I Need You
by Lady-Winter-Belle
Summary: When Emily invites everyone back to Rosewood after 5 years, she did not expect the bombshell that everyone has been trying to avoid telling her - Alison's married. With Emily having an announcement of her own, everything is one big mess. Will Pip get Estella in the end? Rated M in later chapters.
1. The Bombshell

**A/N: This is a new story I'm hoping to write on what I want to happen after the time jump minus all this 'he's after you' nonsense. This is just a trial and if I get enough reviews etc I shall continue with it :) Also, as this is my version of events it was actually Emily who asked everyone back to Rosewood, not Alison AND I have no idea what Dr Rollins' first name is so I just made it up.**

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*Emily's POV*

I always thought coming back to Rosewood would be a good thing. Now that A or Charlotte has stopped tormenting us it means Rosewood is now a safe place. 'A reinvented place' I think to myself as I look at the streets and there's a new bar, The Brew looks like it's had an extension and there's also a new sports centre as you come in to Rosewood. But unfortunately I'm not here for anything good as I'm returning to say goodbye to my father, who sadly passed away. Unbeknown to my friends, it actually made me have a change in career choice and I'm planning on telling them later today. But first, I must get through one of the hardest things I will ever do.

Pulling up outside my home I instantly feel overwhelmed with emotion as my mom is sat on the steps waiting for me, nothing different from all the times I've come home over the last five years except my dad is not sat next to her with his arm around her shoulder. I instantly ran up to her, keys still in the ignition of my car and the door still wide open. I pulled her into my arms and just stayed there. Over the past week I've cried enough times to fill The Mississippi River so I simply have no more tears to shed.

'Taking the keys out would be a good idea Em, unless you want a car parked in your living room again' a voice sounded as I heard my car door close.

'Hanna! This is not the time' I heard another scold her.

I turn around to find Hanna and Spencer stood wearing all black, a small American flag in their hands and both carrying a reef of flowers.

'Hey guys, thank you for coming' I said, breaking from my hug with my mom and heading over to two of my best friends. They both instantly pull me into their own hug.

'I have a feeling I'm going to be all hugged out today' I sighed, I really wasn't looking forwards to saying goodbye.

'You'll be fine, we are all going to be there to support you. Aria is coming it's just her flight got delayed'

'Thanks guys I really appreciate it' I say as we all walk into my family home. I really meant it to because these women are my rock and they have been since I can remember. As we enter my house I see the furniture has been moved around and there is a buffet of food set out on the dining table. I go up to my old room to get changed into my outfit I'm wearing for the funeral and I can't help but feel emotional as I look at my bed. The exact spot I sat when I told my dad I was gay. I glance at my windows which had maximum security so he knew I was safe. I look at my wall full of pictures from my childhood and there's one which stands out the most. It was the Christmas when I was 7 years old and dad had surprised us on Christmas Eve. Mom and I were completely oblivious as we thought he was still in Afghanistan but as we were outside laying the reindeer dust on the grass our very own Santa came down the pathway to our home. Seeing him there was the best present I could ever ask for and knowing that he won't be surprising us anymore at Christmas is absolutely devastating to me.

'Emily?' My mom asked, peeking her head around the door being careful not to startle me. But as soon as she saw the tears flowing down my cheeks and the picture in my hand she was by my side with her arms around me.

'Hey hey sweetie it's okay, let it out. Shhhhh, that's it. You know your dad will be very proud of you'

'I can't believe he's really gone mom' I cry, my face buried into her shoulder.

5 minutes had past and I really needed to get ready. I pulled away from my mom's arms and she instantly wiped the tears from my cheeks before kissing my forehead. 'I love you, and so does your father' she smiles weakly before walking out. I wipe my eyes once more before getting into my black dress and heels and head over to the mirror to sort out my make-up and hair. Leaving it in its natural curls, I apply minimum make up to my face before staring blankly into the mirror. I sigh deeply, straighten down my dress and head downstairs.

As soon as I reach the bottom I see that Aria has arrived and is now catching up with Spencer and Hanna but I can't help wonder where Ali is. I haven't spoken to her in almost a year. When we left for college we all kept in touch talking every day and then Ali slowly started to not talk as much. I know she had a lot going on, she took Charlotte under her wing and her and Jason helped give her the family she never had and she juggled that with getting a degree at Hollis. The last time I saw her in person was 2 years ago when we all met up for thanks giving dinner. As much as she had grown and matured she seemed a little distant. After that, she completely stopped talking to us, or so I thought.

*Hanna's POV*

'Spencer what the hell are we meant to say if she asks about Ali?'

'Hanna calm down, does she even know Ali is going to the funeral?'

'I don't know but if she doesn't it's going to be a big shock when she sees the huge rock on her finger. What do we say? Or yeah Em we forgot to mention Ali got married and you weren't invited' I whisper but kinda shout, a shouting whisper.

'We don't know for sure that Ali didn't invite her, we all know Em has been MIA recently maybe she didn't receive the invite' Spencer says, holding her mug of coffee close to her lips, sipping in between sentences.

'I am not getting the blame for this when she finds out.'

'Why would you get the blame?'

'Because I'm Em's best friend. Let's face it you ship team Hannily more than team Spemily' I say, raising an eyebrow.

'Not true but continue'

'And when she finds out we went to Ali's wedding without even telling her or asking her to go with us, I just feel it will all come back on me. You're technically her sister anyway so you had to go.'

I tut when I hear her sigh, why can't she just accept I'm right for once.

'Han, Aria didn't go either it wasn't just Em, and besides I didn't know you were going and you didn't know I was going. It's not like we arranged it'

'True...' I say, my thought line cut off by the door bell ringing.

'Aria! How lovely to see you' Pam says as she opens the door.

'Thank you Mrs Fields. I'm sorry for your loss'

'Thank you dear but please call me Pam' she smiled, welcoming the small, now blonde, woman into the house.

'Omg you look amazing look at your hair' I say, walking around her taking in her new look. Spencer was first in with a hug before pulling her into the room for a catch up.

*Emily POV*

'Hey Em, how you doing?' Aria said, making her way over to me with her arms out once I reached the bottom of the stairs.

'I wish people would stop asking' I sigh.

'Sorry, I know you must be sick of it' she says pulling away from our hug and giving me a weak smile.

'Yeah, I mean what do people expect me to say? I'm so happy I could dance around the rooftops'

'You ready? The car is outside' I hear Toby say. He's dressed in a police uniform but one they use for ceremonies, much like the one my dad wore for our father daughter dance at high school. I smile weakly at him.

'You scrub up well' I smile. He smiled back before Caleb came up behind him dressed in a black suit. As I stepped out onto my porch the car was parked outside with my father's coffin inside. The coffin itself was covered by an American flag but beside the coffin was white flower reefs which spelt out 'Wayne Fields'. Stood behind the car was about 20 military personnel all dressed in their uniforms and in front of the car was a military marching band. I grabbed my mom's hand as we made our way behind the vehicle. The procession from our house to the Rosewood church had all our close family and friends following the car. There was mom and I, Hanna and Caleb, Spencer and Aria. As Toby was part of Rosewood police, he had to go separately, and there was all the rest of my close family. The marching band began to play and we all made our way to the church, residents on the street clapping as the car went by as a sign of respect to my father.

'Here' I hear someone say, before I find a tissue being passed over my shoulder. I turn around to see Spencer smile weakly at me. I didn't even realise I had tears rolling down my cheeks. As we arrived at the Church there were several people from emergency services, including Toby, and the military stood saluting the car as it came to a stop. Walking up the steps to the church, I could see that it was full inside and something inside of me really wanted to go in and see if Ali was there. If there is anyone I need right now it's Ali. Her smile, her presence, her laugh. I need her because I know she can comfort me and make me feel better.

'I need to sit down' I mumble, rapidly climbing the steps.

'Hey it's okay, we'll come with you' Hanna says, linking her arm with mine as Spencer, Hanna and I make our way into the church. I quickly look around, searching for the blonde hair or blue eyes I've craved to see so much but I see nothing. There are a few blonde people but not the blonde hair I've loved since I was 14.

'Who are you looking for?' Spencer asked.

'Ali, why isn't she here. I thought my mom invited you all.'

*Spencer's POV*

'Maybe she is busy or ill. I don't know I've not spoken to her in ages.' Hanna says, rather quickly. I glare at her because she has just blatantly lied because we saw her 2 weeks ago at her wedding in this very church.

'I need air' Emily says, holding her head and walking outside.

'Hanna what the hell are you playing at'

'I'm sorry I just freaked out. Is Ali even back off honeymoon?'

'I don't know. God this is so messed up' I sigh. But then, my attention is brought to the far side of the church where Ali is sitting with none other than her new husband.

'Hanna, Hanna. She's there' I say, frantically tapping her arm to get her attention.

'Oh god. We need to tell Emily. I can't stand this' Hanna said, walking outside to find Emily.

'Hanna stop! Are you really prepared to drop that bombshell on her minutes before she's going to say goodbye to her father' I practically dragged her arm back.

'Yes I am because it's something we should have done 2 weeks ago.' She said walking out of the church door. I quickly shuffled through all the people blocking the aisle and I made my way down the steps to Hanna who was now feet away from Emily sat on a bench.

'Emily, we've found Ali she's inside' I hear Hanna say. I look at Emily and her eyes have lit up, a small smile creeping on her face. Even after all these years I knew she still loved Ali and I know deep down Ali loves her. When we said goodbye outside Ali's house before we went to college I could see the love in their eyes when they looked at each other, and how they always held hands was not a coincidence. But, they both refused to bring it up to one another and look where they are now. She's going to be heart broken.

'But we need to tell you something...' Hanna continued. Oh God, I'm not ready for this.

'Emily, Ali is married' I said simply.

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 **A/N: Thank you for reading! If you want me to continue with this story please let me know and please review I'd love to know what you think. :)**


	2. A Misunderstanding?

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has Favorited/followed/reviewed it means a lot :)**

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 ***Emily POV***

'What?'

'Ali, she's married' Hanna said, her facial expression hard to read.

'Han, I appreciate that you're trying to lighten the mood but I really can't be doing with your jokes today' I stand up and push my way past Spencer, lightly bumping our shoulders. It was a bad idea because she instantly grabbed my arm, pulling me back in front of her.

'Em, Hanna isn't joking. Ali got married a few weeks ago.'

'You knew?' I say, trying to hide the sudden heart ache I was feeling. I sat back on the bench, both Hanna and Spencer giving each other a look. 'Well?' I say, hoping one of them would speak. The one time they are both quiet and not arguing with each other I actually want them to talk.

'We kind of got invited, I didn't know Hanna was going but obviously I am her sister kind of so I went and I saw Han there'

'Aria?' I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

'She couldn't make it' Spencer said quietly. Hanna looked down at the floor, clearly feeling uncomfortable with the situation.

'Oh great, so I'm the only one who didn't get invited. Not one of you decided to get in touch and ask if I was going or ask why I didn't go.'

'We just presumed that you didn't want to go'

'Oh thanks guys, such great friends'

'Guys, it's about to start' Aria interrupts. 'What's happened?' She says, noticing all our facial expressions and the lack of eye contact.

'She knows about Ali being married, she definitely didn't get an invite'

'Em I'm so sorry' she said sincerely. The only one that actually cares about me as it seems.

'I need to ask her why I wasn't invited, I need to see-'

'Emily, Emily. Stop. You are just about to bury your dad. This can wait. Now come on pull yourself together and let's get in the church.' Spencer said, with Aria and Hanna nodding like puppets behind her. Spencer really is like the mother of the group.

'Yeah come on Em, we'll all discuss this later with Ali' Hanna said, linking our arms and practically dragging me up the church steps. When I get into the church everyone turns around and that's when I see her. Her hair no longer blonde, more of a golden yellow colour. Her eyes sparkling brightly, they locked with mine for a second when she gave me a small smile. But my eyes were soon drawn to the dark haired figure next to her. Her husband. I quickly looked away and quickly walked down the aisle to where my mom was sitting. He looked well groomed so he must have a good job. No wonder Alison married him.

After the service, everyone retreated back to our family home. It quickly filled up with people, either coming for the free food or alcohol. I don't really think people were coming to 'celebrate' my dad's life. But the one thing we did whilst everyone was there was hang up the flag we received from losing someone in the military. I found myself sitting on the steps of my porch, beer in hand, thinking about the one and only thing that's been on my mind since I was 14. She didn't bother turning up to our house. Probably too ashamed to show her face, or worse, she'll be too preoccupied with her 'husband'. I was just about to get up and grab another beer when the very person walks up the driveway.

'Hey, I'm sorry for your loss. Your dad will be missed by us all.' she said, smiling sincerely. Oh brilliant, she's acting all innocent like she's done nothing wrong.

'This isn't a celebration Alison' I said plainly, standing up and walking back in the house.

'I know, it's your mom's favorite'

'Well thanks, but you can leave now. You're not invited.' I say, taking the bottle.

'But your mom-'

'Alison you are not invited. You don't invite me to your fucking wedding so I'm not inviting you inside'

'Emily I did-'

'Goodbye Alison' I said, closing the door in her face. Could this day get any worse? I take the bottle of wine and head up to my old room. I sit on the window seat and look out. I wish I didn't though because Alison was walking down my driveway and she turned back and our eyes instantly met. She looked hurt, almost like she was about to cry. I could see the tears glazed in her eyes even from here. _'She didn't invite you to her wedding Emily, she's in the wrong'_ I tell myself as I take a swig of the bottle. With Hanna, Spencer and Aria and their other halves all gone home after the flag ceremony, there was no one to interrupt me. 3/4 of the way down the bottle I start to feel slightly light headed; I was never one for handling my alcohol. I look over to see I have 5 texts and 2 missed calls.

The first 3 messages were from Hanna:

 _ **'Hey em, it was a lovely service. Tell your mom we all said thank you. Hope you're okay xx'**_

 _ **'Me and my mom were speaking, we'd love to go for a meal with you and Pam at the new restaurant. Tomorrow any good? Xx'**_

 _ **'Em are you okay? You usually reply as fast as thunder'**_

 _ **'It's fast as lightning Han haha, but yes tomorrow is fine**_ _**xx'**_ I reply, that girl can make me smile even on the saddest of days and that's why I love her. I look at the last two texts from 'Queen Ali D'. Ali jokingly put that in my phone when I got my phone like 3 years ago and I have kept it since but something now just doesn't feel right. She's not a DiLaurentis now for starters and some part of me feels like I can't be close to her anymore. I quickly change her contact name to 'Alison' before reading her texts.

 _ **'Hey Em. I'm not quite sure what happened today on your porch but I did invite you to my wedding, it was you that didn't respond. X'**_

Even being mad at her there was something about the kiss on the end that made my heart flutter.

 _ **'Emily please reply to me or answer my calls. I'm not throwing away our friendship over a stupid misunderstanding.'**_

No kiss this time and that one word that still stung. Friendship. Yeah Ali, because you and I are such good friends we ended up kissing on several occasions, we hold hands and hug for way longer than normal. I don't know whether it was the alcohol or anger but I needed to do something, anything to get me away. I jump up and run to my closet pulling out my old t shirt and shorts, slipped on some old running shoes and headed out the house. I subconsciously ignored the calls from my mom as I left the house and took off wherever it was my feet were taking me. I was completely unaware of the fact that it was pitch black and I was completely unaware of my surroundings until I stopped running. Of course I was here. The one place that reminded me of our 'friendship'. The kissing rock. As I head through the wooded area out in the open, I saw a figure sat on the rock. The moonlight highlighting her golden locks, shining down on her like an angel in a spotlight.

Of course, It was Alison.

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A/N: Please, please, please leave a review, it would mean a lot! Also, does anyone have any suggestions of who Jason's girlfriend/fiancée could be? let me know!


	3. Jealousy

A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews :)

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*Emily's POV*

 _Shit._ I cannot face her right now. I walk backwards slightly and accidentally snap a branch on the floor causing myself to internally cringe. I see her look around, startled by the sudden noise which makes me realize that she seems very on edge. Afraid almost. _'God all I want to do is run over there and stare into her eyes'_ I think to myself as I look at her eyes, shining from the intense moonlight. _'Kiss those lips'_ my thought trail guided my eyes down to her perfectly plump lips, the memories of the few times we've kissed still fresh in my memory. As fresh as the sweet smell of vanilla she gives off when you're close enough to smell it. _'Touch those hands...'_ My thought process trailed off when my eyes landed on her soft, perfectly manicured hands because sitting on the finger on her left hand was a huge diamond which ricocheted the moonlight in a thousand different directions and fair play to her because that thing was huge. Personally I'm more of a 'dogs are a girl's best friend' but damn that thing looks expensive. My thoughts were interrupted when her face all of a sudden lit up, causing me to jump slightly as all of her facial features came into view. It was her phone ringing, the lit up screen now accompanied by her ring tone 'fight song'. That once again brought back memories. Memories of the Ice Ball when we all were accusing Ali of being A, how it was her first Christmas without her mom and we just ditched her. We were the ones who threw her under the bus. I quickly shake myself back to reality to catch the conversation Ali was having.

'Hey honey' Honey? Jeez I knew Ali had matured but that is something a 40 year old house wife would say. _'She is a housewife now'_ I remind myself mentally.

'Yeah I'm just getting fresh air'

'Well I didn't actually go in the end'

'It's a long story' she sighed. Why is she sighing? She knows fine well why I didn't invite her in. I'm guessing it's her husband she's talking to.

'Yeah I'm heading home now'

'No I'm fine, I'll walk'

'It's 5 minutes away'

'No Adam honestly'

'Okay you win, I'll be at the entrance of the woods'

'Okay, love you too'

Adam, I'm guessing that's her husband's name but I'm not sure I know any Adams from Rosewood. Alison quickly got up, cautiously looking around before making her way out of sight. Why did she keep looking around? Was she afraid of someone? I suddenly felt a cold shiver run down my body as the reality of been out in the cold wearing just a t shirt has just caught up with me. With the freshly crisp air bringing me back to a more sober state, my mind once again became frazzled and I completely forgot the reason I even came running to the kissing rock. I decide to lightly jog back home and hope it warms me up in the process. Just as I reach the end of the clearing I see Alison climb into an expensive looking BMW X6. As she opens the car door, the light inside the car turns on and I can see their faces clearly. Alison climbs in and smiles at her husband sweetly, him returning the gesture whilst placing a hand on her cheek. He must of said something funny because she giggles slightly, bowing her head in embarrassment. He laughs it off as he pulls away and heads down the road. I move my head slightly, following the car as it makes a right turn at the end of the street and going out of view. My heart literally broke in to a million pieces. Half because of jealousy and half because she actually looked happy. In fact she looked the happiest I have ever seen her and it wasn't me who was making her happy. I didn't even realize I was stood in the middle of the road with tears down my face until there was car headlights heading straight towards me. I move off the road, the driver beeping their horn but it didn't faze me. I just walked slowly down the sidewalk, kicking loose pieces of litter blowing in the night breeze.

'Emily is that you?' My mom called out as I closed the front door.

'Yeah it's me' I say, my body now in a state of auto pilot. I head to the kitchen where the remains of the alcohol from earlier were sat on the counter. I quickly grab a crate of beer and head upstairs. I close my door with my foot as I rip a bottle from the crate, cracking the lid open on the desk. As I bent down to pick the lid up, I noticed the book sitting on the top of a pile of books from high school under my desk. _Great Expectations._ I pick up the book, flicking through the pages, noticing all the quotes that Ali and I had highlighted in several colours. She insisted that I highlighted the Pip quotes in yellow because yellow made her happy like Pip made Estella happy. I took the book and the crate of beers and sat on my window seat, leaning against the wall and pulling my knees up as I began reading the book, taking a mouthful of beer after reading every other sentence. 3 bottles later and I finally found the bit I was looking for. _I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be._ I sigh deeply, I definitely feel for this guy Pip because I know exactly how he feels. Except he didn't love Estella 'against her being happily married to some rich guy, against being dead, against lies, against betrayal', I once again found myself angry. Angry at Alison, angry at myself. I found myself throwing the book across the room, pulling my knees closer to my chest and sending the 3 empty bottles falling to the floor. I was definitely going to regret this in the morning. I really hope my mind forgets everything that has happened today and tonight and forget the emotions that the alcohol has brought bubbling to the surface but there is definitely one thing being sober can't get rid of.

The _jealousy_ I feel right now.

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A/N: It would mean the world to me if you left a review and let me know what you think :)


	4. I Have An Announcement To Make

***Emily POV***

I woke up with my head pounding and no sense of where I was. I opened my eyes to still find complete darkness and in a moment panic thinking I was blind I shot up from my laying down position only to fall off wherever I had spent the night. With a bang, I landed face down on my floor. I groaned as I lifted my jack from my face and I noticed the empty bottles of beer and the bottle of wine scattered on the floor. I drop my head to the floor again, burying my face into my rug hoping it will cure the killer headache I now have. It temporarily works but the pounding soon comes back. I slowly pull myself to my feet and head towards the shower but just as I reach the door I notice The Great Expectations lying on the floor. I pick it up, not really sure how it got there but as soon as I pick it up and notice the page with the yellow highlighter and all the emotions and feelings from last night came flooding back. I close the book and place it on my desk before heading to the bathroom where I was faced with my reflection in the mirror. Once again, the events of last night came flooding back to me as I look down at the shorts and t shirt I am wearing. I sigh, quickly turning away from the mirror and into the shower. I make sure to take my time but being in the shower only gave me time to think and dwell on all these returning feelings. So I quickly shut off the shower and made my way back into my room. My cell phone buzzed on my bedside table so I head over to read the message.

 **Hanna** _ **:**_ _'hey, hope you're feeling better today. Don't forget we have a reservation at the new restaurant in town at 5 xx'_

I look at the time and it's only 11.34 am. But then something in the back of my mind clicks, I forgot to tell them all the news yesterday. With everything that went on with Ali I was so caught up that I completely forgot.

 **To Aria, Spencer & Hanna:** _'Do you guys fancy meeting me at the brew in an hour? I have some really important news to tell you x'_

 **Aria:** _'Yeah sure, but if Ezra is there can we please leave? X'_

From what I have gathered, Ezra went to Thailand with Nicole and then no one heard anything from him. I guess seeing your former love after all that time would be awkward, especially now Aria has moved on.

 **Spencer:** _'Of course I'll be there.'_

 **Hanna:** _'Count me in, but I'm not paying ;) x'_

 **Me:** _'haha thanks guys, coffees are on me, even a cookie Han;) x'_

I quickly head over to my suitcase and pull out some grey jeans, a white t shirt, a leather jacket and some black leather loafers with a little tassel on the top. Not too smart and not too causal, that way I don't have to bother getting changed for the meal later on with Hanna and our moms. I quickly plug in the curling iron as I apply my make-up. I best make the most of these luxuries because soon I won't be able to use them. I do my hair in my legendary loose curls and head out the house. As I'm making my way into town I notice a house, surrounded by a fence so it was secluded from everyone else, that didn't used to be there. Peering inside I could see it was a modern house and newly built. On the huge metal gate there was a grey plaque which read Rollins. Whoever they were they certainly looked like they had a lot of money. I continued driving until I reached the brew, parking just down the road. It definitely looked different. The outside area now more of a patio with a roof and little trees with fairly lights which I'm sure would look beautiful on a night time. As I walked inside the brew I was once again shocked, it now had an upstairs area, more of a balcony with a spiral staircase leading up. There was rows of bookshelves and computers and bean bags. I'm guessing it was now the student hub of Rosewood with many students chilling around or working on the computers. And downstairs was also different. It was full of wooden bench style tables around the outside with a huge area in the middle filled with comfy couches. They also had huge flat screen TVs hanging from the ceiling with several channels playing, everything from basketball to the news to the children's channel. To the very back of The Brew was a small stage, I'm guessing they hosted gig nights and karaoke based on the several posters on a notice boards. Ezra really had done a good job of the place. I notice Hanna and Spencer sat down on one of the couches and they instantly waved me over.

'Hey, have you not ordered yet?' I ask, sitting down next to Hanna.

'If I remember correctly you were paying' Spencer says raising her eyebrow.

'Okay fine, I'll be back soon' I say, laughing a little and getting up.

'Don't forget my cookie' Hanna shouts as I make my way over to the till and order. Just as I'm about to get served Aria makes her way into The Brew so I take her order and she cautiously sits down, obviously on edge at the thought of Ezra being close by. Just as I'm about to walk away with the coffees I ask the barista, 'hey do you know where Ezra is? I'm a close friend'

'He's out of town visiting family in New York at the minute, he'll be back at the end of the week or I can send him a message?'

'Oh no it's okay, I'll catch him when he comes back. Thanks' I smile and walk off to our seats. 'Ezra isn't in town, he's in New York visiting family until the end of the week' I say as everyone grabs their order. I hear her let out a sigh of relief.

'Anyway, what did you want to tell us' Hanna said, obviously eager to find out what I wanted to tell them. I take a deep breath, I'm not entirely sure how they are going to take this.

'Well, the thing is... I haven't been completely honest with you guys.'

'Oh god. Em I thought we left lying to each other in high school' Spencer said, clearly slightly annoyed that I've been keeping a secret.

'I know we did, but I just wasn't ready to tell you'

'Tell us what?' Aria chirped in, still with her coffee mug pressed to her lips.

'Well after my first year doing sports physiotherapy I decided I wanted to do something different so I changed my course to paramedic science'

'Wait so you're now a paramedic? Em that's great! I always love a person in uniform' Hanna winks, making me laugh slightly.

'Yeah but there's more... After finishing my degree I decided that I wanted to join the military'

'What? Em is that a good idea after everything that's happened'

'If anything Spence it just makes me want to do it more. Follow in my dad's footsteps. Make him proud'

'Em your dad will be proud no matter what you do'

'I know but I've been planning this for months, I've completed all my training and that's why I've been MIA recently.'

'Wait so does that mean-'

'I leave for Afghanistan in 2 weeks' I search their faces, hoping to find some kind of reaction but they all just stare at me blankly. 'I get that it's a lot to take in but this is what I really want'

'As long as this is what you _really_ want, I'm happy for you' Hanna smiled, pulling me into a hug.

'Yeah of course, and proud. I don't know anyone who is as brave as you' Aria said, pulling me into a hug followed by Spencer.

'Well look who it is, couldn't you bare to leave again?' A voice sounded from behind me. I quickly turn around, the voice and tone that sounded all too familiar.

'Mona?' I say, turning around to face her. She had a friendly smile on her face which is something I _did_ _not_ expect.

'Yeah that's me, it was a shame I didn't see you at the wedding the other week. I guess there was just so many people there'

'Oh I didn't go. Wait what? You went to the wedding?' I asked, shocked. The last time I checked Ali and Mona still weren't exactly friends. I know they sort of let bygones be bygones but shock was still evident in my voice and I could tell she noticed as she let out a small laugh.

'Well yeah, Dr Rollins is my boss after all' she smiled. Dr Rollins? That name sounded far too familiar but I didn't know exactly where I had heard it. After inviting her to sit with us we all learned that Mona was now a councillor working for a private hospital for the mentally ill but she did a lot of visits to places like schools and I'm presuming that's how her and Ali are friends because Ali is an English teacher at Rosewood High. After leaving for college, Hanna still kept in touch with Mona so we already knew that she didn't get charged with the Bethany Young murder. As there was already proof of her having mental illness from her Radley files at the time, they decided to rule it off with her pleading innocent due to special circumstances.

After an hour of catching up we all headed our separate ways, Aria had to fly back to Boston as she had work commitments and Spencer, although also having work commitments, could work from home in her law cases. As I was driving back home, the same route I came, I notice the house I drove by on my way here and as I drove past the gate something in my head clicked. Rollins. The name on the gate is the same name as Ali's husband, Dr Rollins. So that means that this house is Alison's. Jeez, she really has done well for herself. But then my mind wandered to something else. Alison is no longer Alison DiLaurentis.

She's Alison Rollins. Mrs Rollins. My heart tugged with jealousy and the thought made me feel physically sick.

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 **A/N:** Please keep reviewing etc. I love to know what you guys think :)


	5. What The Hell Is This?

**A/N:** I really enjoyed writing this, so i hope you enjoy!

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*Emily POV*

It was just past 5pm when we heard the beep outside. Seen as though it was Hanna's treat she was driving us all to the new restaurant.

'Emily, they're here' my mom called as I was halfway down the stairs.

'Yeah I'm here mom' I say, putting my shoes and jacket back on at the front door. My mom opened the door, waiting for me to leave. As I walked past her, she smiled sweetly. I don't understand how she has been so strong through everything and I don't know how she will cope when I leave for Afghanistan. 'I love you mom' I say, as she locks up the door.

'I love you too darling, and I'm also so proud of you' she says, giving me a quick hug. We both turn around to head to the car, both Hanna and Ms Marin smiling sweetly at our little moment.

'Hey Pam, hey Emily' Ashley smiled sweetly from the passenger seat. Her and my mom deciding to have a catch up, talking about the funeral yesterday. Ashley couldn't make it because of work commitments. Since Hanna left for New York she found herself another job in real estate to keep herself occupied. The restaurant we were going to seemed to be just outside of Rosewood and as we pulled into the road I knew exactly where we were. As we pulled up in front of the white building I was shocked. Once stood Radley Sanitarium but now stands 'The Radley' and it's fair to say it looked really modern. The outside was filled with tables, there was even an outdoor bar, it was a square shape with what looks to be a champagne fountain the middle. There were waiters wearing waistcoats and tuxedo bows and it seemed to be full of people. We pulled up in a parking space and headed to the restaurant.

'When the hell did this happen?' I ask, shock evident in my voice as Ashely Marin and my mom laughed lightly.

'You'll soon find out. Just wait until you learn who owns the place' Hanna said, opening the door so we could all get in. The inside was just as mesmerising as the outside. As you walk through the door there is an indoor pond with little goldfish in and to the left and right of the door there are fountains in the pond. To get to the actual restaurant/bar you had to cross over a little bridge and once you get to the other side you are greeted by a waiter. Looking around, I can see to the far left an area up a couple of steps with a cocktail bar and high tables with stools. Sat around them were many people sipping their drinks, chatting away. Around the remaining outside of the room were booths with people eating their meals which were up a couple of steps also. And in the middle was an open kitchen surrounded by water, again with little bridges with waiters taking food to and from the kitchen to people's tables. Over the bridges in the middle was several tables of all sizes.

'Oh my god' I said, taking it all in. 'This place must be expensive' I say.

'It's a good job we don't have to pay then' Hanna winked. I was completely confused, I hope she isn't planning on walking away without paying. That is definitely something Hanna will do but I can't think the owner would be someone who would take it lightly.

'Hi we are actually friends of the owners, he's expecting us' Hanna says to the waiter, who instantly smiles and walks of. I continue to look around the place, seeing a black grand piano in one of the corners with a man softly playing music that I didn't notice before.

'Hey' someone said, a voice that was very familiar. I turned around, my jaw almost dropping to the floor at the man in front of me.

'Jason?!' I say, the words almost exploding out of my mouth.

'Yeah that's me, table for 4 yeah?' He chuckled, grabbing four menus and leading us around the restaurant to one of the booths up the steps at the back.

'So you own this place?' I say, as he hands us the menu.

'I certainly do, well I kind of co-own but I run it, I'm sorry I have to go deal with something. I'm sure Hanna will tell you everything. It's good to see you Emily' he smiles, before walking away to deal with one of the waiters who has a problem.

'Han, did you know about this?' I say, noticing she had no input into the conversation I just had.

'Yeah sort of' she said, almost looking guilty.

'So what the hell is going on?' I ask, completely baffled at the last 10 minutes of my life.

'Well, you know Ce-Charlotte bought Radley? Well obviously after a few years in the Rollins Mind Hospital she was getting better and she, her family and the rest of Rosewood didn't want reminding of what happened so she decided to pay to have it all refurbished into this place. She's still in the hospital obviously but with her being like a genius she does all the finance and law side of things and Jason runs the place.'

'Wait so where the hell did she get the money from and did you just say Rollins?' I ask, that name is coming up far too often for my liking. Just the word makes my stomach hurl.

'Well the same way she got the money to fund her A antics. She is literally the wolf of Wall Street. She bought shares into companies and sells them when their shares go up. She is literally a walking millionaire. And yes, I said Rollins Mind Hospital. Rollins as in Adam Rollins, he was working for the state hospital and he was Charlotte's doctor and when he mentioned the idea to Charlotte about wanting to run his own mental hospital, being the walking bank she is she decided to pay and now she literally has her own flat there. And before you ask, it's called Mind Hospital because apparently it's a lot friendlier and appealing that Mental Institution or Sanitarium.'

'Wow' I say, still processing everything that's just happened.

'And that's why we get free meals. Unlimited free meals and cocktails for the rest of our lives' she smirked.

'So you've seen Charlotte? How do you know she's better?'

'At the wedding, she was maid of honour. Me and Spencer were bridesmaids' she said, instantly looking at her menu to avoid eye contact as she knows she should avoid the conversation at all costs.

'What?'

'Em, you would have been one too if you went'

'If I was invited' I corrected her sourly.

'Em you really should speak to Ali. But yes Charlotte was so much better. She seemed just like Cece expect friendlier, less creepy and she's actually funny. Apparently she has a soft spot for you because she kept asking how her Americano is' she said, raising her eyebrow at the inside joke we have. I smile a little, I actually started to like Cece that day.

'Can I take your order?' The waitress asked.

'I'll have the House steak with an extra portion of fries, and a side of onion rings and garlic bread' Hanna smiled.

'Hanna, they're people starving in the world stop being greedy' her mom scolded her.

'It's free, might as well make the most of it' she said, handing her menu back over. I ordered a meat feast, stuff crust pizza to share with my mom and a portion of fries. After finishing our meals and a strawberry sundae, we were ready to leave but before we could Jason came over.

'Hey, if any of you are free on Friday night, we are hosting a cocktail making session. It's invite only so you'll have to let me know and I'll get you a ticket each.' He smiled.

'Thank you, that's very kind Jason' Ashely said, I still don't quite understand why things seem awkward when they are around each other.

'It's a shame you weren't at the wedding, I know Charlotte was looking forward to seeing you. You should go see her sometime, I know it's a big thing to ask but she is honestly a better person' he smiled genuinely. _If he can forgive her after she dated him, then I know I should. I know she was ill just like Mona and I can kind of understand why she was like that. After all, Ali used to be similar and look how she's changed,_ I think to myself.

'I will, I'll maybe go tomorrow? Would that be okay?'

'I'm sure she'd love that' he smiled, walking away to allow us to leave.

 ***The next day***

I type the address Jason gave me into my sat nav and headed in the direction of the Rollins Mind Hospital. It was on the outskirts of Rosewood the other side of town. Pulling into the car park I was once again surprised. It didn't look anything like Radley or any other hospital. The outside was a grey colour but each wall had a colourful pattern on and each window frame or door was painted a different colour. As I reached the building the inside smelt brand new. Not the smell of an old history museum like Radley, and certainly not like a hospital. Inside the walls were painted bright colours, with pictures and art everywhere.

'Hi, I'm here to see Charlotte DiLaurentis' I say to the middle aged woman behind the desk.

'Ah yes, she's been expecting someone. I believe she has been looking forward to your visit. Could you please sign in and take one of these' she says, pointing at the book and handing me a visitors badge, the lanyard being a bright yellow colour. A lot different to the visitor's badges in Radley.

'Right this way' a man said, leading me through the hospital. There were lots of rooms however each room has large windows so you don't feel trapped. There are many patients, some doing pottery, some playing games, some reading on bean bags. Through one window I can see some playing soccer on a field out the back of the building. Dr Rollins had actually done a good job. Well, Charlotte paid but all the patients looked happy, and the system doesn't seem to have issues like Radley did. I get lead to a lift where you have to swipe your badge for it to open, obviously the patients aren't allowed to use it. It takes me to the top floor and at the end of a small corridor there is a single door. I knock quietly.

'Come in' the voice says, I take a deep breath. I haven't seen Charlotte since we were all stood on the roof at Radley. I enter the room and it is literally like an apartment. Well a loft apartment. She had a kitchen, a lounge area with a huge TV, a huge king size bed and an office area.

'Americano! It's good to see you' she smiled, pulling me into a hug.

'Hey' I smile weakly.

'Come sit down, we need a good catch up' she said, ushering me over to the couch. Wow it was a comfy couch, my body practically sank into it as I sat down. She could sense my uneasiness as she sat down in the chair opposite.

'Look, Emily, I don't even know what to say to you. I wasn't in a good place back then, in fact, I don't even remember half of what I did. That's how bad it was. And I regret it, God I do, but I can't change what happened. And I know it's a lot to ask but I really want you to try and forgive me'

I just look at her blankly. She wants me to forgive her? After locking me in a dollhouse, driving a car through my living room, sending my girlfriend away and she even caused my dad to have a heart attack!

'Not right away, of course, but I'm getting better now. I have all the support I need, I have the family I never had and I'm being accepted as being Charlotte.'

'I'll try, but I can't promise. You put me, my family and friends through hell'

'You forgave Mona? And Ezra. And don't forget it was Shana too' she said, I could see the hurt in her eyes. It is true that we forgave Mona and Ezra of course, I guess I would be being a hypocrite if I refused.

'Let's see how it goes' I smile. She smiles back, and actual genuine smile and jumps up from the sofa.

'You were always my favourite you know Americano, and no it wasn't just because you were Ali's. Tea? Coffee? She said, holding the kettle up.

'Tea, please. One sugar' I smile. I turn back and look around the room whilst she is making the coffee. But something besides the TV catches my eye. It's a beautifully decorated white envelope with Em- something written on it in what looks to be Ali's hand writing. As I get up and pick it up, it definitely says my name. I open it up cautiously, my eyes furiously scanning the page.

 _ **'You are formally invited to the wedding of Adam Jonathan Rollins and Alison Lauren DiLaurentis at the Rosewood Community church.'**_

Why the hell did Charlotte have my wedding invitation?!

'Charlotte, what the hell is this?' I say, standing up and holding the invitation up.

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 **A/N:** Sorry for the lack of Ali in the past few chapters but now the invitation mystery is going to be solved so she will be back ;) Please review etc, i'd love to know what you think!


	6. It's Not What It Looks Like

**A/N:** I really loved how playful CeCe was and so I've tried to incorporate that into her character, i hope you like it :)

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 ***Emily POV***

'Listen Emily, I can explain?' She said, walking over to the lounge area so she could place my tea on the coffee table.

'Is this some kind of joke? Playing your A game again?' I said, slamming it down on the table but with it being paper it flew onto the floor.

'Don't be so dramatic Emily. I told you I'm better now' she said, sitting on the chair.

'Well this all seems like another one of your twisted games'

'I did it because you love her.'

'W-what?' Okay now she's got my attention. I know she knew I used to have a crush on Ali but that's it.

'Like I said Americano, I knew you had a big crush on Ali but when she came to me when I found out she was alive all she would talk about was you. She didn't specifically say you, she kept referring to you as mermaid but, I figured it out. Whenever she talked about you her face would light up, her eyes would glisten. When I put you in that box, in Ravenswood, I've never seen her so scared. Scared she would lose you. I know I put you in there and as much as I love you, the reason I helped Ali get you out was because of her. That's when I knew deep down she really did love you. And don't think I didn't know about your little make out session. And then you accused her of being A.' She said, her eyes narrowing at me. It look down at the floor, the guilt and shame washing over me once more. 'God I was so angry with you. Out of everyone, you were the one who was supposed to be there for my sister when I wasn't. When I turned up at the ice ball she looked broken. Having to watch you all there, spying on her so you could gather evidence. Having to watch you slow dance with _Paige_. God I thought I would have got rid of her sooner but damn that bitch is stubborn. I had to get her away so you and Ali could be together but no you still all screwed it up by handing her over to the police.'

I didn't even realise that I had tears forming in my eyes until one splashed onto my hand. 'I'm sorry okay, I know what we did was bad but none of that would have happened if you didn't pretend to kill her.' I was now angry, it's okay making me feel guilty but if she wasn't A none of this would of happened.

'You planted her hair at the crime scene to set her up! Don't blame this on me. It's good that we are getting our feelings out but can we just get to the point. I was in charge of sending all the invites out and I didn't send yours because I couldn't stand the thought of you finding out she's getting married. I knew if you found out there is no way you would willingly come back to Rosewood so I didn't send it. I know Ali still loves you, she has a group photo of you all on her bedside table and I'm pretty sure she kissed your face every night, hoping you would come back to Rosewood. I'm not entirely sure why she wanted you to go to the wedding if I'm honest. A part of me did think it would make her stop the wedding, realise she was making a mistake but I knew you wouldn't come and I knew you'd be heart broken. Believe it or not but I love you, and I love my sister and I can see how much you love each other. I just couldn't bare the thought of seeing you heart broken, not after all I've put you through.' She said, smiling slightly as she finished her sentence.

'Does Ali know you kept it?'

She shook her head, 'No, I thought maybe you could tell her. Maybe that way at least it will get you talking and you could apologize for telling her she was uninvited to your house the other day'

'You know about that?' As much as she says she's finished her games, she sure as hell isn't acting like she has.

'Ali and I really are sisters. We tell each other everything.' She smiled, I could see her eyes glisten at the thought of her and Ali finally being actual sisters. I know deep down that she really does love Ali.

'Well, I erm, should get going' I say, placing my empty mug on the coffee table.

'Yeah of course, I don't want you to think I'm kidnapping you' she said, smirking playfully. 'Too soon?'

'Yes.' I reply simply. This is the first time I've seen her since that night and she's already cracking jokes about it. I mean I get she's trying to be funny but seriously that's just too far.

'Well I hope you come back to see me again, or I see you around. Luckily I'm aloud out of this place. Not trapped in for years like I was at Radley.' I could see a flicker of sadness cross her eyes at the memory. It must have been awful, locked in that place practically her whole life. A wave of sympathy washes over me and I smile.

'Yeah of course, believe it or not I liked you to back in the day it would be nice to have that back.' I say, causing her to smile widely. As we reach the door she pulls me into a hug.

'Thank you Emily.' She smiles, waving from the door as I walk towards the lift. As I head through the hospital towards the exit, I see a flash of golden hair and I instantly take a few steps back to take a closer look. I could only see the back of her head but I knew straight away it was Ali. Her hair was hanging in loose curls down her back. She was wearing a light blue floral tea dress with a light blue denim jacket, it's fair to say she looked stunning. But as my eyes moved over her body my eyes instantly locked on her left hand, the diamond of her ring glistening in the light. But her hand moved and as I followed it I could see it land on someone's face. I focus my eyes back onto her whole body to see her in the arms of her husband. He was a little taller than her so he bent down slightly to place a kiss on her lips, he obviously said something because her head fell back with laughter. That was something that distinctly Ali did when she actually did find something funny. I found this out back when they were 14 as Ali only really did it around Hanna, the only person who was actually funny. Luckily for me, I could sit and admire her when she was doing it but stood here now watching her felt completely wrong. I could see by Ali's posture that she was about to leave so I quickly made my way to the exit, not wanting her to see me. As I got outside I instantly kicked a trash can over, not caring if all the litter fell out. I was so stupid. Stupid for even thinking that Ali wouldn't invite me, stupid for not talking to her, stupid for accusing her of being A, stupid for not being there when she needed me and so fucking stupid for not telling her how I feel. As much as I hate Adam fucking Rollins for marrying the love of my life, I only have myself to blame. _Fuck_. What if Ali actually loves him though? Then I remembered the texts that she sent me, saying that I should ring her back and I completely ignored her. God I bet she thinks I'm mad at her still for something she didn't even do. Oh god this whole thing is such a mess. My whole fucking life is currently a mess.

I now just needed to come up with a way to apologize and talk to her.

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 **A/N:** Next chapter definitely has Ali in it ;) Please leave a review, i love knowing what you all think :)


	7. Cocktails And Jealousy

**A/N:** Thank you for all your lovely reviews. I really enjoy writing this story. Please continue reviewing, it motivates me to write quicker!

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 ***Emily POV***

It was now Friday. I haven't heard or seen Ali since the hospital 3 days ago because I've kind of just been laid around the house feeling sorry for myself. Its 2 weeks today that I head over to Afghanistan and I really need to sort this situation out with Ali but I don't see her often because she's gone back to work with it being the end of summer. So with Aria back in Boston, Hanna in New York and Spencer, well, I don't even know where Spencer is because she travels all over the country with her law cases. But today is the cocktail night at The Radley which Jason invited us to so I'm hoping that Ali will be there so we can finally talk. Aria and Hanna are coming over for the weekend so that will be fun. Having spent all day in bed watching Netflix, I decided it was best that I make an effort to get up and sort out the guest room. I decided to change all of the bed sheets and vacuum until I heard a knock at the door. My mom was in Texas sorting out all my dad's belongings so I had to go and answer the door myself.

'Hey Aria, how was the flight?'

'Hey Em, yeah it was good. But I'm definitely ready for some cocktails.' she smiled, placing her bag down and instantly pulling me into a hug.

'Make yourself at home, I'll just go put your bag in the guest room'

'Thank Em, sorry it's so short notice. My mom didn't think about me coming back to visit when she decided to turn my room into an office.' She laughed.

'No don't worry, it will be good to have you here seen as though I need to make the most of it until I leave.' I smile, halfway up the stairs. I knew by the silence that she didn't know how to reply. Hanna, Aria and Spencer seem to refuse to bring it up, obviously it hasn't sunk in yet. _Shit._ Ali doesn't know that I'm going into the military. She probably won't care anyway so what's the point in telling her. I return downstairs to see Aria sat texting away with a smile on her face.

'So come on, who is he?' I smile, sitting down crossed legged on the couch, grabbing a pillow to cuddle like we used to at sleepovers.

'I don't know what you mean' she said, locking her phone and placing it on the coffee table. I could tell by her lack of eye contact that she way lying.

'Oh come on Ar, we've been through enough to know when each of us are lying' I laugh, it's true. Even after 5 years apart each one of us still does something unique when we are lying. Aria avoids eye contact, Spencer sounds like she's making a speech she's forgot the lines to and Hanna tries to move on and ignore the topic. I'm not too sure what I do, but I'm probably the worst at lying.

'Okay fine, he's called Liam. He works as an editorial assistant at the magazine I work for and he's nice...' She trailed off smiling to herself, obviously at the thought of new lover boy.

'Ooo so no more Mr Fitz' I nudge her playfully, I genuinely thought they were forever. I see a wave of something I couldn't figure out wash over her face at the mention of her ex-lover and for the first time this conversation she looked up at me.

'That's the thing Em, I haven't seen him in 5 years. When Liam and I met I hadn't seen him in 4 years. I forgot what it felt like to be loved, to have that attention and share your passion with someone. But what if all my feelings for him come back if I see him?'

'If it's meant to be, it will be. Que será será' I smile, that was probably the only thing I can remember from Spanish.

'Anyways, less about me, what about you and Paige? I saw a few pictures of you two together on Facebook.'

'Yeah we met up once or twice' I said, okay now it was my turn to act all awkward. That's what I do when I lie, I act all awkward.

'Emily, what are you not telling me?'

'We may or may not of hooked up a few times and then ended up together and we may or may not kind of still be together kind of.' Yep, I definitely just rambled.

'What?! Emily. You've come back here all guns blazing at Ali when you're back together with Paige?!'

'No, I'm not _back together with Paige_. We weren't official, just bed buddies I guess. She only recently wanted to make it official but I don't want her that way. Too much as happened, all I could think about was Ali.'

'Does she know?!'

'No, I kind of just sent a drunken break up text and then I found out my dad passed away and I just left Cali, I've not heard from her since'

'Shit Emily. You need to talk to her'

'No I don't, I need to talk to Ali.' I say, standing up to answer the door as we were interrupted by a knock.

'Hey Han' I say, letting her into the house.

'You ready to leave, it starts in 10 minutes?'

'Yeah of course, come on Ar we best get going' I smile, grabbing my jacket. Hanna looked back and forth between us, obviously noticing something wasn't right but she decided to leave it as we all headed off to the cocktail making event. Once we arrived at The Radley, the place was full because according to Hanna there was two events going on at once. We made our way over to the cocktail bar and sat down at one of the tables as I turned to look at the main restaurant area. There were so many people dressed in suits and dresses so it must be some kind of formal event. As I was looking out into the crowd I noticed a very familiar brunette wearing a black floor length dress.

'Is that Spencer?!' I say half shocked half confused, not knowing whether it was just an illusion.

'What the hell? Spencer! SPENCER!' Hanna shouted, catching her attention along with the whole entire room with her big mouth. She instantly made her way over to us.

'What are you guys all doing here? And why wasn't I invited?' She said, a little disappointment evident in her voice.

'It's the cocktail making night thing Jason invited us to, you said you were busy' Hanna replied, raising an eyebrow at the now visibly relieved brunette.

'Oh yeah of course' she smiled, reassured that she wasn't being left out.

'So what are you doing here?' I ask, people in this town really don't give simple, straight answers and it annoys the hell out of me.

'It's a welcome evening for Wren, he's joined the Rollins Mind Hospital' she said, pointing to Wren who was wearing a tuxedo and talking to some oldish bald guy.

'Wren?'

'Yeah Hanna, Wren. Wren who is engaged to my sister. Again. And who moved back from London a week ago' she smiled, like it was an obvious thing that we should all have known. Just then there's is a huge round of applause and some whistles and cheers. 'I have to go' she said, heading back down to the crowd, clapping at whatever everyone else was clapping at. I followed everyone's gaze to the entrance and stood there was the one and only Mr and Mrs Rollins. They were linking arms as they made their way into the crowd. Dr Rollins was wearing a black tuxedo and Ali was wearing a red dress which was 'v' shaped on the chest so it showed some cleavage and it had a slit up the left leg showing off her expensive Jimmy Choos and a whole load of leg. My jaw was literally on the floor.

'Holy shit' I whisper to myself but Hanna obviously heard because I could see the smirk on her face. I quickly cleared my throat and turn my back on them as the cocktail making session began. We had to rotate around different tables as they were set up like workshops. With each workshop you got given a free cocktail. With each cocktail I got tipsier. As I got tipsier I got more jealous of the scene at the other end of the room. Every time I looked over, Ali was with Rollins. He kept his hand on her lower back, occasionally moving it lower or moving it around her waist to pull her closer. He sometimes even placed a kiss on her lips. So every time I got jealous I drank more cocktails. The more cocktails I drank, the drunker I became.

'Em seriously, you need to take it easy' Aria said, I moved over to the table where her and Hanna were stood making Sex On The Beaches.

'Aria why are you dancing?' I say, I was so drunk I was swaying causing it to look like she was dancing.

'What are you talking about? I think you need to slow down on the cocktails' Aria said, placing a little umbrella in her cocktail.

'Yeah Em, I thought you didn't like cock' Hanna smirked, as she was also a little bit tipsy. I just threw her a sarcastic smile and took her drink, downing it in one go before walking around to her and throwing my arm around her shoulder.

'I need the toilet. Hannaaaaaaa' I say, Almost baby like until she sighed and followed me to the steps. I stumbled slightly and it caught the attention of a certain blonde in a red dress.

'Hey what are you guys doing?' She said, excusing herself from Rollins with a kiss and making her way over. I made a Bork noise and pretended to be sick, earning me a sharp elbow to the ribs from Hanna and a sad glare from Alison.

'We are just at the cocktail event. Your brother invited us actually' Hanna said, holding my arm tightly as she tried to keep me under control. I just wanted to be free and go to the toilet otherwise I would pee myself.

'Hanna I need to go to the restroom, let go' I said, yanking my arm free but at the same time Hanna let go causing me to stumble backwards and fall to the floor.

'Omg is she okay?' Rollins said, heading over after seeing me fall. I was just sprawled out on the floor like a star fish when I saw Ali's head peer down at me, the exact same way she did at the barn. I smiled at the memory, until I was brought back to reality by another face blocking my view.

'Urge you've got to ruin everything' I say, dramatically flapping my arms as he helped me off the floor. He gave me a confused look, clearly puzzled.

'It's okay I got it from here babe, I know her' Ali said, smiling at her husband. I scoffed quietly, well I thought it was quiet until they both glared at me.

'I know her' I said, laughing hysterically. I had to hold Hanna's arm so I didn't fall over with laughter. 'I know her. I played with her feelings. I made fun of her. I treated her like shit.' I say, now walking over to a table with champagne. 'I loved her..' I say, sipping the champagne and raising the flute up in the air, now gaining the attention of several people in the restaurant and bar. 'I loved her against reason..' I take another sip, 'against promise...' Erm what's the rest? 'Against all discouragement that could beeee' I exaggerate the end as I take a larger gulp of the champagne.

'Is she reciting Dickens?' Rollins said, looking down at Ali who looked absolutely mortified at the sight in front of her. Her eyes clearly saddened at my antics.

'Yes I am you tuxedo wearing, gold digging, cradle snatcher' I say, grabbing another glass from the tale. I could see from the corner of my eye that Aria was about to die from embarrassment but Hanna, being a little bit tipsy, was trying to contain her laughter.

'Excuse me?' He said, his head snapping up. He went to take a step forward but Ali held her arm over his chest to stop him.

'You heard. How old are you like 50?' I was now swaying so much I had to hold on to the table. 'Marrying someone who is clearly a lot younger than you, you only want her for her sister's money' I dared to say.

'What gives you the right to come into here, crash my party and insult me when you don't even know me? You're an embarrassment. I'm sure your parents are proud and what they've brought up' he said, how fucking dare he talk about my parents. I could tell he regret it once realising what he had just said.

'Em come on, leave it' Hanna said, obviously noticing the change in my facial expression. Turning from a complete drunken mess to complete anger.

'Don't you fucking dare' I say, grabbing the closest glass of champagne and throwing it at him full force. There was several gasps from onlookers watching the events. Rollins was just stood in complete shock, champagne dripping from his face all down his tuxedo which was completely ruined.

'Get out Emily' Alison said, a mix of anger, hurt and disappointment evident in her voice and facial expression but also her eyes. _Oh shit I've just caused a bigger mess for myself._ The last thing I can remember was Aria and Hanna both dragging me out by an arm each, Hanna been sobered up by the sudden turn of events.

 _I will definitely regret this in the morning._

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 _ **A/N:** Please leave a review and tell me what you think! _


	8. The Morning After The Night Before

**A/N:** Thank you for all your lovely reviews! Just to clear something up, Emily is NOT still with Paige and won't be in the future.

Also, i have just got twitter and i have literally no followers so please follow me **hawaiinpieterse** i follow back and I'd love to get to know you all :)

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*Emily POV*

I woke up the next morning like I had amnesia. I couldn't remember anything about anything, it was like I woke up from a dream but I couldn't remember what happened. I opened my eyes to gain some kind of understanding of where I was but as soon as I opened my eyes my head starting doing somersaults so I immediately slammed my head down on my pillow. I heard a quiet muffled noise coming from down on the floor. I knew from opening my eyes that I was in my own bed but how I got there, I have no idea. Shit. The person on the floor better not be a random hook up girl. 'Fuck Emily' I think to myself as I groan and turn over to see who was on my bedroom floor. I wouldn't usually just sleep with random girls but when I had alcohol I had no control over my impulsive decisions. I let out a deep breath and slumped back into my pillow, it was just Aria.

'Em, are you awake?' She said sleepily, her voice raspy.

'Mmmm' I grumbled into my pillow. 'Why aren't you in the guest room?' I asked, the realisation soon dawning on me that we weren't 14 years old and having a sleep over.

'Well since your crazy antics last night, I brought you home and you refused to let me leave you. You wanted me to spoon with you until you fell asleep and literally 5 minutes later you puked everywhere. So I've stayed close in case you needed to be sick again or you needed me' she laughed. I smile at her apologetically, she really was a good friend.

'Thanks, I'm sorry you had to put up with me.' I frown and she smiles forgivingly, quickly brushing it off. 'Wait... What crazy antics?'

'I think I'd rather let Hanna tell you, and if I was you I wouldn't bring it up to Spencer' She laughed.

'Oh god' I say, reaching for my phone to see I had 2 texts from Hanna.

 **'I hope your head isn't hurting too much hahahahaha'**

 **'Ps we should meet at the brew for a hangover cure, Spencer wants a word with you ;) xx'**

What the hell did I do that got Spencer mad and why did Hanna and Aria find it so hilarious? I quickly got changed into some jeans and a t shirt and made my way downstairs to find some tablets for my throbbing head.

'Come on Em we need to head to The Brew, Han and Spence are already there' she smiled, but I could tell she was hiding something because she seemed to be slightly hesitant to go out the door. As we got into the car, I made sure to ask her.

'Is this about Ezra?' I knew it was harsh and straight to the point but by the way she gulped and looked away I knew I was right. 'Hey Ar come on, if he is there just smile, say hello and ask how he is' I smiled, I knew it was going to be hard for her seeing him again after 5 years. It was hard enough for me coming back and facing Ali and we weren't even together.

'Yeah you're right... It's just I don't think I'll be able to bare seeing him with someone else' I could see the heartache in her eyes and I know exactly how she feels because that is exactly how I feel. 'I mean look at the way you've reacted to Ali and you weren't even together'

'What do you mean the way I've reacted?' As far as I am aware I haven't done anything to out of the ordinary except tell her she wasn't invited inside at my dad's funeral. Aria immediately started to laugh again, I honestly have no idea what is going on.

'Ask Hanna' she smiled, opening the door to The Brew. Luckily for us, Ezra wasn't there but instead we were greeted by two sets of eyes. One set staring coldly at me and the other creasing with laughter. We headed over to the couch Hanna and Spencer were sat at as both of them had already ordered for us. If there is one thing we learned about each other it was how we liked our coffee/tea. As soon as I sat down Hanna started laughing, earning her a hard glare from Spencer.

'Okay, what did I do?' I sigh, taking a sip of my coffee.

'You really don't remember?' Hanna laughed. I shook my head, it was the truth I don't remember anything. The last thing I can remember was Ali and Adam walking in. _Oh god. Shit._ Did I say something to Ali?

'You were literally drunk in love' Hanna said, getting her words out in the middle of laughing. She was literally crippled over.

'Yes you were. I would say you had one too many cocktails but I think you had about 12 too many cocktails before stumbling down a step, falling onto the floor when you were talking to Ali and then completely going off on one. You started stealing the champagne from our event, drinking it whilst reciting Dickens and then you made a mockery of Dr Rollins' Spencer said, almost saying the last but through gritted teeth.

'If I recall you called him a tuxedo wearing, gold digging, cradle snatcher' Hanna said once again laughing, drawing the attention of literally everyone in The Brew. Even Aria tried to hide a little chuckle. I instantly went a deep shade of red, I could feel the blush rising in my cheeks. Oh shit I really shouldn't drink alcohol.

'Aria don't egg her on' Spencer whined. 'And you then threw a glass of champagne over him before Ali told you to get out. It's a good job the event was nearly over Emily because your reckless behaviour nearly ruined Wren's evening.'

'I threw my drink over him?' I say, almost shocked at my own actions. I knew I got pretty reckless when I was drunk and that's why I don't drink often but wow I didn't think I was that bad.

'Yes you did. Embarrassing him in front of a lot of people. Poor Ali was mortified'

'Yeah Em, you should definitely apologise' Aria said, finally adding something to the conversation.

'Speak of the devil' Hanna muttered under her breath. I was confused until I followed her eyes over my shoulder to the two blondes stood in the queue. She looked tired and somewhat sad, she didn't have her usual glow and she wasn't showing off her beautiful smile. I could only assume it's because of what I did last night. Even Charlotte looked a little disappointed.

'I need to speak to her' I say standing up, only to be dragged back down by Spencer.

'That's not a good idea. You should give her time and space'

'Time and space, we've wasted enough time since we were 14 don't you think?' My voice cracked with emotion, gaining me a sympathetic look from Hanna and Aria and a sigh form Spencer. However she did let go of my arm so I was free to go and speak to Ali.

'Ali' I call, she either can't hear or she's ignoring me and I mentally chose the first option as I called her name again, 'Alison!' I'm now within reaching distance of her so she is clearly ignoring me. 'Hey' I say, grabbing her arm so she would look at me and when she did I wish she never. The sparkle in her eyes was replaced by a cold hard stare. 'Ali, I'm sorry' I say, but she was already halfway out the door by the time I had finished my sentence. 'Ali!' I call her, grabbing her arm once more but she shrugged it off, once again we had caught the attention of onlookers as everyone in the queue and around the door turned to see the commotion.

'Get off me Emily.' Her tone was harsh and cold and it literally caused my heart to crack. I've not heard Ali use that tone with me in almost 6 years, not heard her use that tone with anyone in 6 years and it hurts so bad to know that I was the one that caused her to use it. Before I realise that I was just stood in the doorway staring into space, a hand was placed on my shoulder.

'You really should handle your drink Americano' she said, patting my shoulder before manoeuvring around me and out the door.

'Wait! Charlotte, what do I do?' I think she could see the panic, confusion and heart break across my face because she sympathetically reached her arm out to mine.

'Firstly I'd apologise to Rollins, and then try speak to Ali. She's not angry, more disappointed and confused.' she smiled, rubbing my arm slightly before walking out the door. I quickly head back over to our table, grabbing my jacket before rushing out the door without even bothering to tell the others where I was going. I then realise that Aria had brought us but like she read my mind Hanna appeared behind me with her keys in hand.

'Come on, let's go' She smiled, leading the way to her car.

'Thanks Han, how did you know where I was going?' I asked as we both jumped in, Hanna speeding away a little too quickly for my liking.

'Well I may or may not have been eavesdropping on your conversation' she smiled, causing me to laugh lightly. Of course she was eavesdropping. 'And I know that you and Ali are better than this. I don't know how or when but I know you'll find your way back to one another. The bond you two have is very special, you've been through a lot'

'How can we ever be together Han? She's married, and happily married'

'Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing' she said, pulling up into The Rollins Mind Hospital. I climb out the car, taking a deep breath before heading to the reception desk. It wasn't the same receptionist from when I came to visit Charlotte but it seems like she recognised me because she did a double look.

'Is Dr Rollins available? I'd like to speak to him, it's kind of urgent'

'Hm come to apologise?' She says, turning to her computer. I swallow nervously before gently nodding. Jeez how many people were at that stupid event?

'Dr Rollins is in his office, you can head down now' she said, handing me a visitors badge and opening the door to the main hospital. As I walk to his office at the far end of a corridor, I peer inside the little window on the door and I can see that he is talking to someone however it doesn't seem to be a professional conversation as he seems to be laughing, he keeps saying something and then looking down laughing, almost like he's being complimented. Like a flirty compliment. I knock quietly and his head quickly snaps towards the door signalling with his hand for me to come in.

'Ah Emily, I've heard about your antics last night, sounded crazy. Anyway, thanks Dr Rollins'

'Bye Mona' he smiled, as Mona stood up from chair opposite his desk and walked out. He signalled to the chair in front of me with a smile so I obliged and sat down.

'Bear with me one second, I just need to drop some files off to a nurse down the corridor' he smiled, taking the files and walking out. I quickly glance around his office, it very simple and office like. Except one thing he does not have is any pictures of Ali on his desk. He does has one picture of an oldish couple sat smiling happily who I presume are his parents. He came back in and I quickly looked down at the floor until he sat down on his office chair. He looked less stuck up in just a blue shirt and tie but he still looked like he enjoyed the finer things in life.

'So...?' He said, noticing that I hadn't yet spoke since he sat down.

'I'm really sorry about last night, really I am. And I'm incredibly sorry if I embarrassed you in front of all your work colleagues.' When I dared look up at his face, he has a sympathetic smile on his face.

'It's Emily right?' He said and I nodded. 'I know you have been through a lot this past week especially, I went to your father's funeral with Alison and if I'm honest I don't blame you.' Why doesn't he blame me? Has Ali told him about us? 'A lot of people resort to alcohol abuse and sometimes even drug abuse, or worse, when they are grieving' he continued.

'Alcohol abuse? I just had one too many cocktails' If only he knew that he was the reason for my 'alcohol abuse' and not the fact that I'm grieving but it's better to just go along with it because if he understands then surely Ali does.

'I know but you did that as a result of grieving, wanting to get away. If you ever need anyone to talk to, a professional, I'm sure Dr Kingston wouldn't mind?'

'Honestly I'm fine, I just need my friends around me. They have been my rock since I was younger'

'I know you and Ali used to be close, so why don't you come around for dinner tonight? I'll cook and it will give you a chance to catch up. She thinks very highly of you, she always talks about you and she is really worried about you' he smiled, hoping I would take up his offer.

'Yeah sure, thank you. Again I'm really sorry' I said, standing up. He reached out to shake my hand, smiling as I walked out. I literally felt sick. He is such a nice, genuine guy, the perfect husband as it seems. My heart was in a battle, one side wanting to be jealous that it's not me with Ali but the other side just wants her to be happy. After everything she's been through she deserves it.

I guess I will find out which side wins tonight.

.

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 **A/N:** Sorry nothing major happens but the next chapter will be more interesting! How do you think it will go, good or bad? Let me know! Also, what do you thinks the deal with Mona, is she shady or nah? Please keep reviewing, i love seeing what you all think! Don't forget to follow me on twitter hawaiinpieterse :)


	9. The Dinner Part One

**A/N: Thank you so much for 50+ reviews! I've split this chapter in two because it was too long. Sooo... here's part 1!**

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 *** Emily POV***

As soon as Hanna dropped me back off at my house I quickly hurried inside and up to my old room. I had an urge to dress to impress and this is probably the first time since prom that I have properly wanted to get dressed up to go out somewhere and I was starting to freak out and it's been approximately 30 seconds since I've entered my bedroom. I quickly text Hanna, knowing as the queen of fashion that she'll help me out.

 **'Han I need your help! X'**

 **'I'll be over in 5 chica x'** She replied almost instantly. I quickly headed over to my closet and opened it up to reveal nothing that caught my eye. I didn't pack any smart clothes in my suitcase because I didn't think I would need them so I would have to settle on something from my closet. I didn't even get to start picking out an outfit when Hanna burst through the door with a huge box and 2 bags in her hand.

'Are you moving in or something?' I asked.

'Noooo, I'm here to turn you into a goddess that will hopefully turn Ali' she smirked, winking. I let out a small laugh before looking at her empty the contents of the bags onto my bed. Inside she pulled out some leather pants and a white, long-sleeved shirt.

'Han what's that?'

'This is the outfit you're going to wear tonight, you're going to look so hot' she said, pulling a huge buckle belt out from the bag.

'I'm not a cowboy' I laugh.

'You will be when you're whipping Ali with your lasso'

'Han seriously, stop. Me and Ali aren't going to be together, she's married.' I sigh, sitting down on the edge of the bed, the only bit that Hanna hasn't occupied with all her 'essentials'.

'Then why did you need my help?' I instantly look down at the floor because I know she's right.

'I don't know. It's like my head and my heart are in a constant battle. My head is telling me to stop hoping and stop having feelings for her because she's married and my heart is telling me to try and win her back' Hanna instantly sat down next to me and placed her hand on top of mine.

'Em, you and Ali have loved each other for years. Being married to someone doesn't change how you feel about someone else and being married definitely doesn't mean you can't be together. There is such thing a divorce' she smiled.

'I know, I haven't even told her I'm joining the military. She doesn't even know I trained as a Paramedic.'

'Well tell her tonight. Get your friendship back on track Em because if these 5 years have taught you something it's that ignoring her and hating her doesn't make you love her any less, it only makes it worse. So get her back on to being your friend and then go from there' she rubbed my arm gently and I leaned in to hug her. 'Now let's make you look fabulous just so she knows what she's missing out on' she said, getting up and opening the box to reveal a whole load of make-up and beauty products.

After 3 hours of a pampering and make-up session, I was finally in my outfit and ready to leave. It was now 5.30 pm and although Dr Rollins never gave me a time I thought this time seemed appropriate for dinner. I decided it was best for me to walk to Ali's house seen as though we will probably be drinking alcohol of some sort. I quickly headed into the grocery store to get a bottle of wine before heading to their expensive looking house. The gate was already open so I walk up the winding driveway to the front of their home, it literally looked like a castle. When I rang the doorbell I instantly got nervous as I remembered that Ali probably didn't even know I was coming and she isn't even talking to me. When she opened the door I didn't even recognize her, she was in a white blouse and black skater skirt and she had black wayfarer style glasses on. I knew she was a teacher but damn she was a hot teacher. There was an awkward silence with us both just staring at one another before I decided to speak.

'You're husband invited me over, he-'

'I know, come in' she smiled, opening the door so I could get in. I walking into a large atrium area which had a large winding staircase to the right and a huge chandelier. The floors were a dark wood and there was a definite smell of modern but also a home smell, a familiar scent. There was two huge double doors to the left which led into a living area.

'Come in and sit down' she smiled, walking into the living room. I walked in and again I was blown away. There was a huge log fireplace with a huge plasma TV above it and there was a huge corned couch that was in a 'u' shape. There was an arch way leading into a dining area and I could see they had already prepared with plates, glasses and candles already laid out. Ali sat down on the couch and I sat the opposite side, she had a huge pile of books next to her and her MacBook so I could tell she was marking.

'Sorry, this won't take two minutes' she smiled, entering some grades onto her MacBook.

'Alison DiLaurentis doing work on a Saturday night. Wow how times have changed' I smile, causing her to laugh.

'Well, I'm not a DiLaurentis anymore am I?' She smiled, looking up from her laptop so our eyes met. Just from looking at her eyes I saw a glimpse of playfulness but also a look of accusation and that's when I realized I still hasn't apologized for the whole wedding invitation drama.

'I'm sorry Ali, when I realized I didn't get an invitation I just jumped to conclusions'

'Its fine, I was just disappointed you weren't there. It would have meant a lot to know I had your blessing'

'You wouldn't of' I muttered under my breath. 'Yeah I'm sorry I wasn't there and I'm also sorry for last night' I say and she closes her laptop and the books in her lap, placing them on the coffee table.

'I get it Em' Just hearing her say Em made me have heart palpitations, it's a good job I'm a trained paramedic because I'm pretty sure I'll be needed first aid soon. 'You've been through an awful lot these past few weeks, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you'

'Its fine, I know you would have been if you could'

'Of course I would' she smiled. 'Anyway how have you been? We've not spoken in years' she said and I could see the sadness in her eyes. I was the one who broke off talking to her but I just couldn't bear talking to her knowing that we couldn't be together. Me being the other end of the country, everything with Charlotte, I just couldn't do it. I actually changed my number and removed her as a friend on Facebook. I know it's petty but I needed to get her out of my head.

'I know and I'm sorry' the atmosphere in the room just went from friendly to extremely awkward in about 10 seconds.

'Why did you do it? I always thought that if they'd be one of you girls I kept in touch with it would be you' her voice slightly broke with emotion and my heart sank. We really are in a bigger mess than we were 5 years ago.

'I, I just couldn't do it. I don't know, I just couldn't handle being the other end of the country to you. When you ran away and said I was the hardest one to leave behind, I get it because that's exactly what it was like and I needed to let go. If I couldn't see you every day then I couldn't be reminded of you every day.' I now had tears forming in the corner of my eyes and Ali was looking down into her lap, nodding slowly.

'I understand' she said slowly, 'but I need you in my life Emily. What I said to you all those years ago I meant and I still do. You bring out the best person in me and I need you' she wiped a tear away gently.

'I know, and these past few weeks I've realized I need you' I smile, causing her to smile too. We both get up to greet each other in the middle with a hug for the first time in 5 years.

'You always were my favorite' she whispered. Her breath on my ear sent shivers down my spine but I felt at home, I felt safe like this is where I belonged. As I pulled away slowly, my hands still on her shoulders, our eyes met and I swear she was staring at my lips. But before I could think any more about it the front door opened and she sprung from my hold and moved into the atrium to greet her husband.

My mood went from being up in cloud 9 to being down in hell with the devil in 0.2 seconds. The rest of the night is going to be fun... _not._

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 ** _A/N: Keep reviewing, I love to know what you guys think. I'm thinking of maybe doing an Ali POV next chapter, what do you think?_**


	10. The Dinner Part Two

**A/N:** Thank you so much for all your reviews! There was a lot of mixed opinions regarding the Ali POV and showing her side of things, so I've decided to meet everyone half way and chose someone else. I hope you like it!

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 ***Emily POV***

I got up of the couch and headed into the atrium/foyer after Ali and by the time I got to the door all the bags were dropped in the floor and Rollins had her in a tight embrace.

'Hey, how was your day?' Ali said, leaning up to peck his lips softly.

'Yeah it was okay, quieter than usual' he smiled, but his attention was soon drawn to me who was just stood awkwardly in the doorway.

'Hey, Emily. It's good to see you again' he smiled, releasing Alison from his arms and heading over to give me a hug. _Oh wow this is awkward._ Over his shoulder I could see Ali awkwardly standing there and as he released me from the hug he headed upstairs to freshen up, leaving me and Ali stood there. I was stood one side of the foyer and she was stood the other, just looking at each other, and awkward silence filling the air.

'Seriously Rollins you made me carry the groceries!' A voice shouted, cracking the deadly silence.

'Yes Charlotte that was our deal. You could come for dinner if you carry all the groceries' he shouted, his voice muffled as he was now upstairs presumably in their bedroom. Just the thought of Ali sharing a bed with another human made my skin crawl. I tore my gaze away from Alison to see Charlotte awkwardly stood in the doorway with 4 grocery bags balancing in her arms.

'Here let me help you' I smile, grabbing two of the bags from her arms.

'Thanks Americano' she said, smiling sweetly but I couldn't help catch the glare she threw in Alison's direction before I turned around and headed for the huge, open wooden doors which I presumed led to the kitchen. Of course the kitchen was huge, with a giant island in the middle with a breakfast bar. I set the groceries on the table and waited until Charlotte joined me in the kitchen.

'Sorry to gate crash your little reunion' she said, starting to unload the bags.

'No, you've saved me actually. No one likes to be a third wheeler' I say, smiling but it was definitely a fake smile, almost sarcastic and of course she caught onto that and laughed.

'Ali wouldn't do that to you, whether you believe it or not she still loves you. Maybe in the way you want, maybe not but she does.'

'Ali never loved me the way I wanted her to' I say, causing her to put whatever fruit she had in her hands down and placed them on her hips.

'Emily come on, Ali risked her own life to save yours on how many occasions? 2? 3? You saved her once. She even admitted to you that your feelings weren't one sided or did you forget that?'

'How did you know about that?'

'Because I was A and I had secret cameras set up all over your houses. It was like big brother.' There was a long pause of me just staring coldly at her before she continued, 'I'm joking Ali told me' she smirked playfully but her face instantly fell to that of a moody school girl when she realised I didn't laugh or smile at her 'joke'. 'Oh come on Americano, lighten up. It's been over 5 years.'

'I know I'm sorry' I sigh, going back to unpacking the groceries. I have no idea where Ali went but I all of a sudden heard her giggle from the living room. Her laugh could melt my heart in a heartbeat, it was so soft and innocent but then I heard a huge bellow of a laugh which was like thunder drumming against your ear and I once again sighed out of annoyance. If I had a dollar for every time I have and will do tonight I will be a millionaire.

'Emily, you go sit in there with Ali, me and Charlotte will be fine' Rollins said, heading to wash his hands in the sink.

'Thanks Dr Rollins'

'Please, call me Adam' he smiled. I made my way into the living area once more but Ali wasn't there, so I just awkwardly (yeah I've been very awkward tonight on numerous occasions so far) stood there until Ali bounced back in holding what looked to be photo albums.

'Sit down, I won't bite.' She smiled. 'I have something to show you.' I went and sat on the opposite side to the couch like earlier but she instantly patted the space next to her. 'Come on, I want to show you something' she smiled again, she must of had her teeth whitened or something because her smile was bright enough to light a darkened room. I cautiously walk over and sit down next to her and as soon as I sit down she places a hand on my thigh to lean over me and grab the photo albums. Her touch on my thigh literally sent a shock up my leg and she must have realized because she let out a small giggle. 'You still get nervous around me huh?'

I cleared my throat, caught off guard by her question. 'I'm not nervous.' I don't think she was expecting me to reply because she glanced at me in surprise. 'I'm confused.'

'About what?'

 _'This_.' I open my arms to point to the house. 'And _this_ ' I say, pointing to her wedding and engagement rings. 'And _that_ ' I say pointing to the kitchen, to show I'm talking about Charlotte. 'And _you._ Everything is so different from 5 years ago.'

'Yeah a lot has happened in the five years Em and yes I've changed but I've changed for the better. I'm a better person than I was back then'

'Becoming a teacher doesn't make you a better person Alison it makes you a hypocrite' I didn't even realize I was angry until I bit back at her.

'What is wrong with you Emily? Where is this anger coming from?' She said, slamming the photo album on the coffee table. 'You were the one who stopped talking to me remember? I tried to reach out to you. I needed you.'

'Don't turn this on me Alison.'

'Emily have you heard yourself? You're the one who has changed. Biting at me like this, being drunk and embarrassing yourself. This isn't the shy loving Emily I once loved'

'No I'm not. And you didn't love me Alison you manipulated me and used me.'

'I loved you Emily, more than you could ever know and I'm sorry that I didn't show you that, sorry I didn't have the confidence in myself to admit it. I'm sorry I couldn't make you happy like you deserved to be happy. Why else did you think I was okay with you being with Paige? Why do you think I apologised to her? Because I knew she could make you happy more than I ever could. She could protect you and I couldn't. And I'm sorry okay' she said, tears now falling freely from her eyes. 'All I wanted and still want is for you to be happy'

'How can I be happy Alison? I've been at the other end of the country for the past five years and in the space of a week I find out my father has died and the girl I have been in love with since I was 13 is married to someone else. So I'm sorry if I've come across as unhappy or _changed_ as you put it. I'm sorry Ali but I can't deal with this, I can't see you every day with him.' Tears were now falling freely from both our eyes. 'I'm sorry Ali I just can't do it.' I say, grabbing my jacket from the couch and heading towards the front door.

'Emily wait. Please, I need you' she says, trying to grab my arm.

'Maybe in another world, without all the shit we went through we might have had a shot of being happy together, even being friends. But you're married, we've both changed. I can't do it' I say, shaking from the grip she had on my arm. She leaned against the wall, now crying her eyes out. It made my heart crack but I can't do it. I can't see her be happy with someone else. If I can't have her I don't want anything to do with her. The sooner I leave for the military the better.

'Dinner is ready' Charlotte said, entering the foyer.

'Sorry, I can't stay' I say walking out. I catch a glimpse of Charlotte running over to comfort Ali as I close the door and begin walking down their driveway.

 ***Rollins POV***

I was in the process of setting the last plate on the table when I heard the front door slam and the sound of crying. Completely confused and unaware of the drama that's just unfolded I quickly head into the atrium to see Ali huddled in a ball on the floor crying and Charlotte trying to comfort her.

'Ali? Ali? What happened?' I say, rushing over to comfort my wife. In our 1 year together I've never seen her this upset, not even in the 5 years I've known her.

'I don't know she won't talk, she and Emily had a little heart to heart I think' Charlotte said, still trying to soothe Ali.

'A heart to heart? If she's said something to upset you-'

'Adam, go and clean the dishes up, I've got this' she smiled. I nod obediently, half because I don't know what's going on and half because I don't know what to do to help. As I began to clean up the dishes, I hear footsteps on the stairs so I presume Charlotte has got her upstairs. It takes me about half an hour to completely tidy up everything and by the time I've finished its now only 7pm. I head upstairs to our room to find Ali now showered in her pajamas and snuggled up with Charlotte watching mean girls. It's a childhood thing apparently but I think they just use that excuse to watch it almost every week. I smile at the two of them before heading into the shower myself. I've known Ali and Charlotte for 5 years now, I met them both when Charlotte was brought into the old psych ward I worked on. It wasn't until last year that we decided to date, we wanted to make sure Charlotte was almost 100% better and then 3 months later we got engaged on a trip Hawaii, and a few weeks ago we finally tied the knot. It's only until recently, when all her friends have come back, that I've realized I don't really know anything from her past. I knew she was the 'queen b' of Rosewood High but I didn't know her friends, or her anything about her past love life. She kind of avoided the subject almost. I turn off the shower, wondering whether it would be a good idea to ask her about her past or not. When I step back into our room, Charlotte was now gone and Ali was sat cross legged looking at 3 pictures laid on the bed. I sat on the end next to her, leaning over to kiss her temple and look at the pictures she was looking at. One was of her and the girls, they look no more than 13, one was of just her and Emily and one was a post card of the Eiffel Tower.

'The Eiffel Tower huh? You know if you wanted to go to Paris we could.' I smile, hoping it will make her smile too but instead another tear fell from her eyes, her fingers tracing the picture of her and Emily before she glanced back over to the one of the Eiffel Tower.

'Emily was really special to you wasn't she? More than the other girls?' I take her hand, stroking it gently. She nodded slowly.

'I loved her' she whispered.

'What? Like _love_ loved?'

'Yeah, I _loved_ her. She was my first love and she broke my heart, twice now' she said, obviously referring to tonight.

'What happened?'

'You're not going to judge me for being in love with a girl?' She asked, almost scared to know the answer. I have a feeling that she was scared she was going to be judged and that's maybe what her problem was in high school. That's probably why she was a queen b, putting up barriers to protect herself. I am a psychiatrist so I am quick to figure out what people are thinking and feeling and how their actions relate to it but something about Ali always has me confused.

'No of course not. Alison I love you for being you no matter who you used to love. You don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to'

'I was horrible to her, really mean and when I went missing she hated me for it. But in the time I was gone she changed, she came out, she became stronger. And when I came back I admitted to her how I felt and then her and all the other girls accused me of being A and we never spoke about our feelings or anything anymore after that. We just brushed them away, pretended they weren't there. We dated other people and we left for college, I thought we were finally being back on track to at least being friends and then she just stopped talking to me. She deleted me off Facebook, deleted my number, and stopped sending birthday cards and Christmas cards. She was the only person through everything, who saw the good in me and everything's gone' she said, the tears once again falling down her face. It breaks my heart to see her like this but a part of me feels slightly jealous that Emily made her feel like this, I mean she obviously loved her a lot.

'Do you still love her?'

'What?' She lifted her head, her eyes meeting mine. 'Of course not' I could tell something still wasn't right, she wasn't telling the truth about something or she was hiding something but it's been a long day and so I decide not to go any further. Instead, I pull the cover over us both and pull her into my chest.

'You'll always have me who loves you. I'll love you way better than Emily did' I smile through the darkness, hoping to gain some kind of happy response but instead I was greeted by her removing herself from my arms and turning over to face the other side.

In all my years of being a psychiatrist I've never known anyone be so difficult to understand as Alison.

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 **A/N:** Please continue reviewing and letting me know what you think! Did you like the Rollins POV?


	11. Kissing Rock Confessions

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews and nearly 100 follows!**

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 ***Emily POV***

It's now been a week since the whole dinner disaster with Ali. I leave for the military tomorrow and I still haven't spoke to her or told her I'm leaving; I've been with Hanna in New York for the past week so I haven't even seen her. My head is just so messed up at the minute I don't know what to think about everything. Seeing Ali so broken when I left her in her foyer really broke my heart and I really hope she's okay. I hope I did the right thing. I thought that not talking to her and not seeing her would be fine, I thought I could handle it but the truth is I can't. Now I've seen her after 5 years I need to see her, I can't go through another 5 years of not talking to her and not seeing her. But then again, I'm going into the military where I won't see her for months at a time anyway and I can't even imagine what it would be like if we were _together...married...with children_. I shake myself out of my deep thought, how can I be thinking about having children with Ali? I walk back up the pathway to my home, my mom asked me to go to the grocery store to collect some wine for a neighbor's birthday apparently. In fact she didn't ask me she ordered me, marched me out the door and closing it before I could even open my mouth. As I walk up to the porch I notice that the house is in complete darkness. I try peering through the window but all I see is darkness so as confused as ever I open the front door slowly.

'SURPRISE!' A huge chorus of voices scream as I turn the living room light on. I practically levitated off the ground, holy crap. Hanna, Spencer, and Aria came over and instantly pulled me into a group hug.

'Did you guys organise this?'

'Well, it was your mom's idea but we helped of course' Hanna smiled, tilting her head towards my mom who was stood near my grandparents. They all waved, a proud grin on their faces.

'What about-'

'We didn't invite Ali, don't worry' Hanna smiled, reading my mind and placing a reassuring arm on top of mine. I spent the next couple of hours making my way around everyone, thanking them for coming and talking about leaving. There is only so much small talk you can make before you start trying to avoid people and that's exactly what I'm doing now, sitting on my front porch with a beer whilst watching the stars. I was so caught up in the peace and silence that I didn't realise that someone was now sat next to me offering me a cold beer.

'Thanks' I smile, finally turning my attention the person sat next to me.

'No problem, how you doing?' Toby said, cracking open the bottle top on the step.

'Yeah I'm doing good' I smile, weakly.

'Come on Em, you can talk to me. Spencer told me about Ali.' Over the 5 years we've spent apart Toby and Spencer have gone separate ways. With Toby staying in Rosewood and Spencer travelling around the country with her law firm, they drifted apart and on a mutual agreement decided to call it quits. It's nice to see them finally reconnect over the past few weeks.

'I can't see her married to someone else, I can't do it'

'Do you love her?'

'I don't know' I shrug. 'I've never had the opportunity to really love her so I don't know'

'Do you think you love her?' I know he could see the confusion in my face so he decided to rephrase the question, 'Do you want to love her?' That caught me off guard. I've been so caught up in everything that I've not really thought for one minute about what I want. I've always focused on what I'm feeling, not what I want.

'Yes'

'Yes what? You want to love her?'

'I've loved her since we were 14 years old. That's nearly 10 years, 10 years I've wanted to show her I love her but something always pulled us apart and now she's married I guess it just proves we weren't meant to be together' I didn't even realise I was crying until he pulled me into his shoulder.

'Hey, if you still love each other after all this time, that proves you are meant to be, not the other way around. All that what you just described, are obstacles and things that prove how strong you are'

'I still love her but I don't know if she loves me'

'There's only one way to find out. Ask her. No more storming out on each other, tell her exactly how it is'

'And what if she doesn't?'

'Then at least you know and you can move on. But one way or another Ali does love you, she'd always ask if you had contacted me or if you were okay. She wouldn't hurt you like she did all those years ago, she only wants you to be happy' he smiled, and I smiled too. After everything, it's nice to see Toby and Ali actually being friends. It took a long time to build up the trust but they did and their friendship now shows for it.

'Even if she does confess to loving me, what happens then? I'm leaving tomorrow for 6 months'

'She'll understand, she'll wait until you get back'

'She doesn't even know'

'What? Emily. You have to tell her' he turned to me, his expression turning to one of dread, 'what if you don't come back? You need to tell her how you feel tonight and you need to tell her you're leaving otherwise you might never get the chance again'

I nod gently, 'you're right, I need to speak with her' I get up from my position in his arms and run inside for my cell phone, quickly finding her name and sending her a text.

'Meet me at the kissing rock in 10 minutes. It's urgent.' I decided it wasn't appropriate at the minute to put a kiss. I run back outside, ignoring the people inside calling my name and pulled Toby into a hug.

'Thank you' I smile, running down the steps.

'Good luck' he smiled, as I ran off down the street towards the kissing rock. As I jogged closer to the entrance of the woods, I noticed that Ali's car wasn't there so I presumed she wasn't here. _God I hope she turns up_. I slowed down my pace to a walk but as I got closer to the opening of where the rock was, I noticed the familiar golden haired blonde already sat on the rock. As I moved closer I could see that she was shivering slightly, instantly making me feel guilty. After all, it was September and it was getting cold.

'I'm sorry to keep you waiting here in the cold' I say quietly, careful not to startle her. She instantly turned around to look at me, a small smile appearing on her face before it quickly faded again. I knew she was still upset with me.

'I was already here, actually' she said, stuffing her hands into her pockets to warm them up.

'You were?'

'Yeah, I come here a lot to think. Get away from everything' She gazed up at the stars through the opening in the trees it really was a beautiful sight, almost as beautiful as the one in front of me. She glanced over at me, her eyes quickly catching my stare as I look down embarrassed. 'Come sit down' she said, patting the space next to her on the rock. It was a tight squeeze to fit us both on, but I wasn't complaining.

'I asked you here because I need to tell you something' I say, as she nods like she already knew where this conversation was going. _Wait did she know about me joining the military?_ But before I could even answer my own question she broke the silence.

'Did you mean what you said yesterday? About you still loving me?' She didn't seem angry or upset or happy, she seemed vulnerable, scared to know the answer. I let out a deep breath.

'Yeah' I say, I wanted it to come out confident but instead it came out nothing short of a whisper. She shifted position slightly, removing her hands from her pockets and taking my hand in her own. She turned her body around so our faces were now looking at each other.

'Then why did you leave me? Cut me off like you didn't care?' Her voice again wasn't angry like the old Alison's would have been, it was calm yet desperate.

'I didn't know what else to do. We went through so much, ignored everything that happened between us. I thought that if I couldn't see you or be with you then I couldn't talk to you or think about you. That way we could both move on but I _couldn't_ move on. All I could think about was you, every girl I was with I compared to you and when I came back here and saw you had moved on I didn't know what to do. I didn't expect for you to be in love with someone else. It broke my heart' I said, my voice cracking as the tears began falling down my cheeks. She wiped them away softly, tears forming in her own eyes.

'I loved you Em, and I really did think after everything with the A drama that we could have our forever in Paris but I couldn't wait forever' she said, not breaking eye contact with me for a second 'When you stopped contact with me it broke my heart. I was empty and Adam was there to pick up the pieces and he put me back together but there wasn't - _isn't_ \- a day that goes by that I don't think about you, us and what we could have been'

'I think about that all the time too' I say, my voice quiet as we are now inches away from each other's face. Staring into her eyes right now, I could see how vulnerable and scared she was. I've never seen her look so innocent before. I place my hand on her cheek to wipe away her tears and I could feel her nuzzle into my palm. Our eyes locked, and although we didn't speak I could see a desperate hunger in her eyes. Her eyes that kept wandering to my lips. I slowly started to lean in when her phone buzzed in her pocket, making us both jump backwards.

'I have to go' she said quietly, sniffing slightly before standing up. She smiled sweetly before heading off towards the exit of the woods. I felt completely drained of emotion but somewhat calm, no longer feeling the familiar feeling of anger or jealousy. But then I realized that I still hadn't told Ali that I was leaving for the military tomorrow.

 _Was that really our last goodbye?_

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 **A/N: Do you think Ali will find out about her leaving and get the chance to say goodbye? If we can get to 100 reviews i'll make the next chapter special;)**


	12. Too Late?

**A/N: Thank you so much for 100+ reviews!**

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 ***Rollins POV***

Luckily for me, today was my day off. It's not very often I get to have days off but seen as though Mona and I have been out of town doing some work at a hospital in Boston I decided to take a day out to recuperate, leaving Dr Kingston in charge. As it was a Friday, Ali was at work so I got the day to myself which means one thing; a beer and basketball. I roll over in bed to check the clock. 11.13am it read, wow I must have been tired. I get up, showered and dressed and I decided to walk to the grocery store to get a few beers. As I strolled down the street, I noticed there were several people all huddled around a car and as I got closer I saw Spencer and Hanna I think she was called but I can't really remember as I only know her from the wedding, stood there too.

'Hey what's going on?' I asked, approaching the crowd curious as to what was going on.

'Emily is leaving for the military' Hanna smiled, wiping the tears away as Spencer pulled her into a hug. I glanced around the little crowd and I saw Emily, all dressed in her uniform saying goodbye. As I maneuvered my way through the crowd she spotted me so I smiled and nodded my head, she smiled back but it was a weak one. I still haven't got to the bottom of why she made Ali so upset but apparently they have sorted it out which is all that matters. I casually made my way home until to notice Ali's car in the driveway. _She obviously went to say goodbye to Emily_ , I thought to myself as I entered our home.

'Ali?' I called but when I received no answer I made my way into the kitchen to place my beers in the refrigerator only to find Ali stood washing the dishes. 'Ali?' I called again. She still didn't respond so I headed over and gently placed my arm on her shoulder causing her to jump and turn around.

'Hey, I'm back' I smile, she smiled too but it was a weak smile. I guess she's just sad to see Emily leave for the military. 'You should have told me you took the afternoon off to go say goodbye to Emily, I would have gone with you' I smiled but she turned fully around, her face full of confusion.

'What are you talking about?' She said, her eyebrows creased in confusion.

'Emily, everyone was saying goodbye...you didn't go?' I ask, my voice trailing off once I realized she had no idea what I was talking about.

'Why was everyone saying goodbye?' She said, her words now coming out rushed and panicked.

'She didn't tell you? She's leaving for the military' I say, watching the panic rise in her eyes. She was stood froze for a minute, obviously not knowing what to do.

'I need to go' she said, quickly drying her hands, grabbing her coat and running for the front door.

'Ali! Ali wait! She'll have already gone...' I shout but it was no use, the door was slammed shut before I had chance to finish my sentence. I sigh before heading back over to the refrigerator and getting out a beer. I have no idea what is going on in Ali's head anymore, I don't know what her deal with Emily is. _Why didn't she tell Ali she was leaving?_ I decided not to think about it and just turned on the TV to catch up on some basketball.

 ***Hanna POV***

'I'm going to miss you so much' I say, running over to Em who was stood in her bedroom mirror putting on her military uniform.

'I'll miss you too' she smiled, pulling me into a hug. 'Han... Can you promise me something?'

'Anything' I say pulling away.

'When I'm gone and if...' She takes a sharp breath' 'if I don't come back' she breathes out heavily, noticing my facial expression turn to one of dread and fear. 'Will you look after Ali for me? I didn't tell her I was leaving, I never got chance to say goodbye. If I don't come back will you give her this?' She says, breaking from my arms and heading over to her set of drawers and pulling out a small box and an envelope before walking over to me and placing it in my hands.

'Of course I will' I smile, 'why didn't you tell her Em?'

'I didn't know how and I didn't want to make everything more difficult, I didn't want to upset her any more than I already have. I have that letter and I told her last night that I loved-'

'Wait what?! You saw Ali last night and didn't tell her?' I saw her roll her eyes slightly, obviously agitated that I cut her off mid-sentence.

'Yes I did...but we had other things to sort out. I told her I loved her still but she didn't say it back, she didn't admit that she still has feelings for me. She said she couldn't wait for me...' I could hear the hurt in her voice as she finished her sentence.

'Hey' I say, wiping the tears from her cheeks. 'Forget Ali for now, this is about you. Now come on soldier' I smile.

'I'm a paramedic Han, not a soldier'

'You still look hot in a uniform' I winked playfully, waiting whilst she grabbed her huge rucksack so we would head downstairs together. I smile sweetly as she took a deep breath, heading down the stairs first. Several family members and friends who had gathered to say goodbye to her cheered and clapped as she headed downstairs and out to the car. She placed her bag in before heading back to say goodbye to everyone. As me, Aria and Spencer were going to the airport with Pam to say goodbye we stood back and watched. Dr Rollins came by, obviously walking to the grocery store and he didn't know what was going on. I tried to smile, but I still can't stop thinking about how sad Ali is going to be when she eventually finds out.

'Let's go' Emily smiled, emerging from the crowd and getting into the passenger side as us three got in the back. The drive to the airport was silent, none of us not wanting to speak as it probably would just end with us crying. When we eventually did pull up at the airport, the atmosphere instantly changed. The air felt cold and sharp instead of warm and friendly. Her mom helped her with her rucksack and doing last minute checks. She put down her bag, turning to face us.

'I guess this is it' she said, taking a deep breath as a tear fell down her cheek. I could see her eyes desperately raking over our faces, trying to remember every last detail like it will be the last. It _might_ be the last.

'I'll miss you Em. But I'm so proud.' Aria said, stepping up to her first and pulling her into a hug. 'I'll miss you too. I love you. Thank you for always being there for me' She smiled, pulling away.

'I love you too Em' Aria smiled, stepping back and wiping her tears so Spencer could have her turn.

'Goodbye Em, your dad will be looking down now with the proudest grin on his face' Spencer said, hugging her tightly.

'Thanks Spence. I love you. Keep doing what you're doing. And keep Hanna away from the cocktails' Emily chuckles, pulling away from the hug.

'I think tonight can be an exception, we'll all be on the cocktails' I laugh slightly, noticing how we were all now complete wrecks. There was an elderly couple stood waiting for a cab and I could see the tears in their own eyes. 'Han...' Emily smiled, opening her arms out to me so I immediately closed the gap between us and practically threw myself at her.

'I'm going to miss you soo much'

'I'm going to miss you too, being all funny and stupid' she laughed, squeezing tighter.

'I love you, be safe' I say, finally pulling away.

'I love you too. Remember the thing for Ali'

'I won't forget' I smiled, as she turned around to say goodbye to her mom. It was emotional for both of them, being almost déjà vu from when they used to say goodbye to Wayne. After a couple of minutes, Emily departed her mom's embrace and picked up her bag.

'I love you guys so much, I'll think about you every single day' she wiped away yet another tear, took a deep breath and headed through the automatic doors. Once at the other side, she turned around, smiling and saluting as she took one last look at us before heading off into the crowded airport and out of sight. We all just stood there in silence for a minute taking it all in.

'Where is she? Is she gone? Am I too late?' A frantic voice called from behind us. We all turned around to find a distraught Ali running towards us.

'She's inside, you've just missed her' Spencer said, whilst I held on to Ali to stop her collapsing into a heap on the floor.

'No, no. I have to say goodbye. I _need_ to say goodbye.' She said, trying to get out of my grip.

'Alison, listen to me. If you hurry you will catch her. She hasn't checked in yet, she's boarding to Texas' Pam said, holding onto Ali's arm to calm her down. She just nodded, wiping her tears before running off into the airport. All four us just stood there, once again not being able to process what has just happened.

 ***Emily POV***

As I stood waiting to check in, I was looking up at the board with all the destinations on and one destination stood out- _Paris._ In another universe, Ali would be stood by me right now and we'd looking up at the board knowing that in 1hr 13 minutes we'd be on our way to our forever. No complications or sadness just happiness and love. There was a couple in front of me, obviously newlyweds, heading to Paris on their honeymoon. They were discussing all the things they were going to do and I couldn't help but feel envious. Not envious that they are going and I'm not, envious because I couldn't do that with _Ali_. I checked myself in for the flight to Texas, I was going there for 2 days before I fly to Afghanistan for last minute health checks and training drills before I enter the war zone. As it's only my first tour, I'll be stationed in a relatively safe area at camp bastion. The check-in woman smiled at me, 'thank you for all that you're doing' she smiled, handing me back my passport. I quickly made my way through the crowd, trying to get to security. I was climbing the flight of stairs when I heard it, well I _thought_ I heard it. I turned around, thinking someone was calling my name but through the crowd I couldn't make out anyone or a voice which was recognizable. I carried on, making my way to the top of the stairs. I carried on walking about 10 steps when I heard it again. This time louder, clearer and I voice that was definitely recognizable.

'Ali?' I question, turning around in disbelief but there she was, stood at the top of the stairs out of breath and tears falling down her cheeks yet the sight of her still took my breath away.

'Emily' she said, although her voice was probably nothing more than a whisper I still knew she said my name. We just stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity when in fact it was just a couple of seconds before she began running towards me. Almost automatically I dropped my rucksack, opening my arms out as she ran into them, not even bothering to slow down before she melted into my embrace. Her grip clingy tightly as a warning she was never letting go.

'I'm sorry I didn't tell you' I say, my head still buried in her neck.

'Why didn't you?'

'I didn't know how, last night I was going to but then you just left' it was true, it wasn't exactly my fault why I didn't tell her. After all, she was the one who hurried off.

'I'm so glad I caught you because I need to say something, if this-' she cut herself off, pulling away so she could look at me properly. 'If this is going to be the last time I ever see you, speak to you'

'It won't Ali'

'You don't know that. I don't want to take chances because I'll never be able to live with myself.' She saw me smile slightly and took that as a sign to carry on, 'I wanted to say sorry'

'Sorry?' I asked, clearly confused because as far as I am aware it should be me apologizing for everything.

'Sorry for not waiting.' She said taking my hand in her own, the contact making my heart leap. 'I should have waited. I was wrong yesterday when I said I couldn't wait forever because I could. I could have waited for you, like you did for me all those years ago. I married, thinking that it would take it away, telling myself that you had moved on.'

'Ali you don't have to apologize'

'I do because I love you Emily. I have loved you since we were 14 I just never got the chance to tell you. Even now, married to someone else I _still_ love you and I needed you to know that' she said, lifting her hands up to wipe away my tears. In the heat of the moment I decided to follow my heart, placing my hands on her waist and pulling her close to me. 'And I needed to do this' she said before moving her hands from my face to my neck, pulling me in and kissing me softly. After almost 6 years her lips still feel the same way, taste exactly the same. We both pull away, our foreheads still pressed together.

'I love you too. I always have, I always will. I promise we will sort this when I get back okay?' I say, a now serious tone in my voice.

'Okay' she said, fiddling with the collar on my military jacket.

'I really need to go.' I say, glancing over at the time. She nodded slowly, holding tighter onto my jacket. 'When I get back, we will sort everything out okay? I will come back Ali'

'You promise?' The fearful look in her eyes makes me think that she really believes this will be the last time she sees me. I take a deep breath, removing her hands form my collar and holding them in my own.

'I promise' I smile, seeing her smile slightly. I leaned down to kiss her one last time, the kiss soon turned into a heated mess as we both wanted to make the most of it. Not knowing whether this would be the last time. I pulled away, seeing the sorrow fill her eyes.

'Bye Ali' I say, picking up my rucksack for what would be the 2874738th time today.

'Bye Em'

'Oh, I have something for you. Ask Hanna for it' I smile, seeing her furrow her brow in confusion. 'Just ask her' I say once more, causing her to nod.

'I love you' she whispered.

'I love you' I smiled, turning to walk towards security. I looked back, seeing her stood there made my heart shatter but at the same time my heart was already bursting with happiness. I wave slightly, seeing her smile before turning around and heading towards security.

 _Just another 6 months until I return..._

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 ** _A/N: I hope you like it! I was planning on making the next chapter where Ali opens the letter/present from Em and different conversations Em has with them all whilst she is away over the 6 months... Does that sound good?_**


	13. Dear Ali

**A/N: Thank you to all of you who continue reviewing but to whoever keeps spamming the reviews with random things i would appreciate it if you could stop as it's difficult for me to read everyone's proper reviews. Thanks :) p.s sorry for any typos**

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 **18th September (the day Emily left) -** _ **181 days until she returns**_

 ***Hanna POV***

It was now 5.30pm and Em should have landed in Texas by now. She said she was going to call me as soon as she lands and even though she wasn't even in Afghanistan yet I could not keep still as the nerves were taking over my body. I was sat on a stool at the island in the kitchen when my cell phone eventually starting buzzing, the initial shock causing me to drop it onto my lap.

'Em?'

'Hey Han' she said, I could hear the smile in her voice at the sound of someone familiar.

'How are you? Are you safe? Was you're flight okay?' I ask, the words scrambling off my tongue causing her to laugh.

'Okay which one do you want me to answer first?'

'The middle one, are you safe?' I ask, getting up at walking over to the refrigerator and inspecting its content.

'Yeah Han I'm fine, I've just settled into my bunk for the next 2 days' she spoke, my attention drifted from what she was saying to the food in front of me. I let out a sigh of disappointment which Em obviously heard.

'I'll be back before you know it Han, I promise' she said.

'I wasn't sighing at you, we have no cheese left' I whine, causing her to laugh once again.

'Oh nice to see food comes before me'

'Shut up you know I miss you, we were all wrecks back at the airport. Speaking of wrecks what happened with Ali?' I asked, I would like to say it was because I was concerned about the state she was in but to be honest I just want to know if they have declared their love yet.

'Nothing, we said goodbye...' She said, her voice trailing off and I'm no detective but that tells me that she's hiding something.

'And then you kissed' I finished off her sentence for her, causing her to sigh. After a complete silence from the other end of the phone I squealed, 'oh my god Emily Fields! You kissed a _married_ woman!'

'Actually she was the one who kissed me', I actually screamed down the phone, jumping up and down. 'Did you give her the present?'

'No I haven't seen her, I'll take it around to her house now actually because I'm going to the grocery store for some cheese' I said, putting my coat on and placing Ali's present in my purse.

'Okay well I need to go do my medical exam now anyway, tell the other girls I'm thinking about them. I love you all'

'We love you too Em' I say, closing the front door and hanging up at the same time. As Ali's house is on the way to the store, I decided to stop by there first and hand over the present. By the 3 expensive cars in the driveway it looks like Charlotte might be round. I knock on the door and it doesn't take long for a familiar bleach blonde to open the door. I took a sharp intake of breath, even now it still feels scary and dangerous being around her. She seems to notice as she smiles sweetly.

'Hey Hanna'

'Hi Charlotte, is Ali around?' I ask, and I could see on her face that she was in some kind of battle on what to say, almost like she had been told to lie. 'I have something for her, from Emily' I say again, this time causing her to sigh slightly before opening the door wide enough for me to squeeze in. I've been to Ali's house a few times but I still don't know my way around and as Charlotte leads me up the stairs I literally consider writing down the directions for when I'm coming back. As we walk cross the landing, there is another spiral staircase at the end. I groan slightly, Charlotte turning around to see what the problem was.

'Come on'

'It's a marathon not a sprint' I say, practically crawling up the stairs. I really should start going to the gym. Once we reach the top at what seems like a converted attic there was an open space with a little bar/concession stand, a popcorn machine and a slushy machine with loads of candy and chocolate and sodas in a fridge. To the left was a door and to the right there was a door and still taking in the newly discovered part of Ali's house, Charlotte led me over to the door on the right. As I got closer to the door I could hear soft music playing. She knocked quietly before opening the door and allowing me to enter first. As I walked in, it was a huge open space with the sky lights letting in the sun which lit up the whole room. There was a black Grande piano in the corner and a huge bed swing hanging in the middle from the roof, with a very familiar blonde laying in it. But it wasn't the room that shocked me the most, it was the fact that the music I could hear was in fact Ali singing and playing the guitar. I didn't even know she could play the guitar never mind sing like that.

'Ali?' Charlotte said quietly, gaining her attention as she quickly stopped singing and sat up, almost embarrassed that someone had caught her. 'Hanna is here to see you' Charlotte said and I smiled when Ali's gaze landed on me.

'I don't want to talk' she said, getting off of the swing and putting the guitar back on its stand.

'I have something for you, from Emily' I say, lifting up the bag. She gulped, slowly nodding at Charlotte, signalling for her to leave the room. She walked over to me, taking the neatly wrapped gift and letter from the bag. She stood in silence, tracing her fingers over Emily's writing on the envelope.

'You don't have to open it now in front of me Ali, I understand' I smile and I can see the tears starting to appear in the corner of her eyes.

'Come here' I say quietly, pulling her into a hug. She instantly nestled her head into my shoulder, letting the tears fall down her face. I rubbed circles on her back and rocked her slightly, 'You've got yourself in a right pickle but it will be okay, I promise' I soothe, hoping it will calm her down. After a solid 10 minutes of rocking Ali and comforting her, both my arms and legs were beginning to ache so I guided her over to the swing and we both sat side by side, her head still buried in my shoulder as I stroked her hair. 'Come on Ali, it will all work out the way it's meant to' I say again, here tears now subsiding and she was just enjoying the comfort of being in my arms.

'Where's Rollins?' I ask, not wanting him to see her in this state over someone who wasn't him.

'Charlotte sent him grocery shopping to get him out of the house' she whispered. Despite the past Charlotte really was a good sister to Ali. 'Em told me what happened at the airport' I said quietly, not wanting to disrupt the peace that had settled around the room.

'You've spoke to her?' She said, bolting upright to look me in the eye with hope and sadness flickering through her eyes.

'Yeah, she's in Texas doing someone last minute tests before she flies out tomorrow evening. She was asking how you are' I said, stroking her arm. She nestled back into my shoulder, sniffling slightly.

'Everything is such a mess'

'When Em gets back you will sort it, you can both sit down properly and finally tell each other the truth about how you feel'

'I can't be married and divorced at 23 Han, my life has been crazy but that's the icing on the cake'

'You don't have to make any decisions about anything until Emily comes back. You have plenty of time to get your head around it.' I smiled, hoping it will set her mind at ease.

'Thank you Han, I love you' she smiled. After years of Ali not being an affectionate person I still find it weird when she actually looks grateful for something or says I love you but it's definitely something I've grown to love about her.

'I love you too Ali, you know that' I smile. 'But seen as though you love me I have a favor to ask. Do you fancy joining the gym with me? Or an exercise class or something' I could see her think about it, obviously not liking the thought of working out like me. 'Come on, it will take your mind off Emily for a few nights a week'

'Okay, yeah let's do it. How come you're not in New York with Caleb?'

'We are taking time out. We are still together and everything but we just need a break from each other for a few weeks' I smile, not really wanting to go into the matter too much. Unlike the old Ali who would squeeze you until she knew all the ins and outs of your problems, she just smiled sweetly and offered her support. 'I'll leave you to open your present then. I'm not entirely sure what Em wrote in your letter because I was meant to give you it if she wasn't coming back but at the airport she said to give it to you now but if you want to call her when she's in Afghanistan I have her number. You just need to ask' I smiled and I could see her face light up at the prospect of not being completely cut off from Emily for the whole 6 months she's away.

'Bye Han' she smiled as I walked out. Intrigued to know what was in the other room, I went over and opened the door.

'Jesus Ali' I say, looking into a home theater. There was a huge projector on the wall with two couches, one behind the other, which were long enough so you could lie on them. As I left the room, I grabbed a bag of m&ms from the bar/concession stand and made my way out of their maze of a home.

 ***No One's POV***

As soon as Hanna left, Alison went straight over to the gift from Emily and picked it up, along with the card, and made her way over to the bed swing. She sat for a few moments, contemplating which one she should open first before deciding on the small box. She delicately tore off the gift wrap to reveal a light blue Tiffany & co. Jewelry box. She opened the box to reveal a silver necklace with a silver mermaid holding a small aquamarine gemstone, her birth stone. She ran her fingers over the fine details on the charm, admiring how much it must have cost Emily. She chuckled to herself slightly, wondering if Emily knew about her nicknaming her mermaid or if it was just a coincidence that a mermaid was the one holding her particular birth stone. Either way, it was the most perfect, thoughtful gift that she had ever received and tears pricked in the corner of her eyes at the thought of maybe not been able to thank Emily face to face. She didn't dwell on the thought for long though as her attention was soon drawn to the hand written letter attached. Opening up the letter, she could see how long Emily had spent writing it, one of the newly gained powers she got from becoming an English teacher, even if she usually used it to tell people they hadn't put a substantial amount of effort into their homework or their hand writing wasn't neat enough. She took a deep breath before beginning to read:

 _Dear Alison,_

 _If you're reading this then it could be because of one of two reasons. Either I'm dead or Hanna has gave this to you because I've asked her to or because she feels you'd want it now. Either way, it will still be good for me to say what I'm going to say._

 _I still love you Ali. There I said it. I love you. I've loved you since we were 14 and I have never stopped. Even now, whether I'm in Afghanistan or in a body bag I will love you. I'm so sorry for the pain I have caused you over the past five, even six, years from shutting you out and cutting you off from me completely. I know I've said this before but I couldn't stand the thought of being one side of the country and you being the other and talking like distant friends. I couldn't do it Ali because I craved you every single minute I wasn't with you, I thought about you none stop, wondering what you were doing or what we would be doing if we were together. I know you probably don't feel the same way about me, you're married after all. God Ali, you're married. When I found out, on the day of my dad's funeral I was honestly heart broken. That's why I uninvited you from the party. I couldn't bear the thought of seeing you happy with someone else, knowing that that could have been us if we just spoke about our feelings but what's in the past is in the past and we can't change that and maybe in another world we will be perfect for each other._

 _Anyway, I hope you like your gift. Back when we found your diary I found the extract about the mermaid and it was actually Hanna that figured out you were talking about me. I love that you called me that and still to this day I wish I could have heard you say it to my face. But I got you this gift so, even when I'm not there, you have a reminder of me. A reminder that I'm there and that you are my whole world, hence the mermaid holding the gemstone. It's like the song about God having the whole world in his hands._

 _If you're reading this because I have passed away, always know that I will be there for you Ali, looking down on you, protecting you and being your mermaid. I will always be your mermaid. If for whatever reason I am still alive and in Afghan, I hope we can finally talk and rebuild whatever we used to have because I need you in my life. Even though I'm alive, I'm still there with you Ali. If I am alive then please ring me, I'd love to her your voice at least one more time. I love you._

 _Your Emily_

 _xx_

Alison took a deep breath, the tears from the sudden movement now dripping onto the paper, smudging the ink slightly.

'You will hear me call you mermaid.' She smiled as she re read the letter over and over before taking the necklace and placing it around her neck. She reached for her phone, sending a text to Hanna:

 **'What's was Em's number? xx'**

* * *

 **A/N:** Did you guys prefer the 3rd person POV or do you like 1st person POV? I'm thinking of starting doing it in 3rd person from now on as it keeps some feelings and thoughts a mystery which a lot of you seemed to like. What do you think?


	14. Phone calls, Messages & Hanna Marin

**_A/N: Sorry this is early, i'm busy at the weekend so i wouldn't have time to upload. Once again, thank you to everyone reviewing etc. It makes me happy :)_**

* * *

 _ **21st September- 178 days until Emily returns**_

 ***No one POV***

'Ali, seriously she'll call. It's only 12 so it's about 8.30 in Afghanistan. She's probably asleep' Hanna said, annoyance evident in her voice. The other blonde sitting at the other end of the kitchen island just ignored her as she continued to keep clicking the home button on her cell phone once the screen turns black.

'What if something has happened to her?'

'Ali she arrived yesterday morning and then she had to attend briefings and then she went straight into her shift.'

'How do you know? Have you spoke to her?' There was almost hurt in her voice at the prospect of Hanna speaking to Emily considering she already had before she left. Hanna rolled her eyes and sat down on the stool. In fact, she more slammed her bum on the stool to add emphasis on how annoying Alison was being.

'No, like I told you I spoke to her before she left Texas. I promised you you'd get to talk to her next and I'm not breaking that' she said, reaching her hand across to squeeze the other blonde's. Over the past few days, they have both grown a lot closer having spent a lot of time together. 'Anyway, I'm sure Em would prefer to listen to you than me' she said, causing Alison to laugh slightly.

The phone in Alison's hand began to vibrate, soon followed by ringing. Instead of answering, she just stared at the screen froze in place as the unrecognised number popped up on the screen.

'Alison what the hell are you doing? It's going to go to voicemail' Hanna said taking the phone out of her hand and answering, earning her a saddened glare from Ali.

'Hey Em! How was your flight?' Hanna said, smirking at Ali as she glared at the Hanna with her eyebrows creased as she was trying to listen into the conversation. 'Anyway, I have a surprise for you' Hanna said, handing the phone over to Ali.

'Hey' Alison said, her voice so soft it was almost a whisper. Hanna raised her eyebrow, she'd never in her life heard Alison talk so innocent and sweet to anyone in her life.

'Ali?! Hey' Emily said, a smile evident her voice.

'How are you doing?'

'Yeah I'm okay, I've just settled in. As I'm based at camp bastion I have a nice bed and a cover but I don't have any bedding' she laughed, causing Alison to smile. Her laugh was enough to make you smile even if you didn't know how.

'Well I'll send you one. It can be a Christmas present seen as though you won't be here' She heard a whine at the other end of the phone and she smiled at the childish like behavior. After all, everyone knew how much Emily loved Christmas.

'But thank you, I'll look forward to opening it'

'Good' she smiled. An awkward silence filled the air, neither of them knowing what to say to the other as they left at the airport on quite a cliff hanger in terms of where they stood.

'So how's life for you? How's everyone doing?'

'Yeah it's okay, everyone's okay but we all miss you. I've been meaning to pop around and see your mom but I've been so busy with school and planning nativity plays for Christmas and things I haven't had chance but I will.'

'Thank you Ali. It would mean a lot to her to see you, she always had a soft spot for you.' Emily said, causing Alison to smile once again. It was true, even though she knew how much of a bitch Alison was, Pam always treated her like she was an angel.

'I know. Anyways I'll put Hanna back on, she's dying to tell you about something' Ali said, as Hanna was practically doing the hop scotch on the spot next to her.

'Okay, well I have internet access on the laptop here so when I'm free I can get onto Facebook and Skype so I can still talk to you' she said, obviously picking up on the blonde's now saddened tone.

'I'll look forward to it. Bye Em'

'Bye Ali'

'Stay safe' she shouted as she handed the phone to Hanna who practically snatched it out her hand and began walking around the kitchen, flinging her arms around dramatically as she explained how Spencer ditched on her when they were meant to be going shopping for a day with Toby yesterday.

 _ **1st October- 169 days until Emily returns**_

A sudden buzz from the coffee table woke Alison up from her sleeping position on the couch. She peered over at her phone, squinting at the screen as her eyes tried to adjust to the bright light. It was a Facebook notification: 'Emily Fields has sent you a friend request'. She abruptly sat up, the blanket over her falling to the floor as she quickly typed in her password and cursing under her breath as she got it wrong before finally succeeding. When Emily cut Alison off almost 5 years ago she also removed the blonde, and blocked her, on Facebook. She quickly hit the accept button before clicking on her profile. Her recent timeline was filled with good luck messages from all her family and friends, even the likes of people like Noel and Lucas had wished her good luck. She scrolled down and the next post was 2 weeks ago, a picture of her and her dad and they were stood face to face saluting each other. Her dad in full uniform with Emily being no more than 5 and the caption was simply 'RIP to my hero. x' the post had received 342 likes and Alison couldn't help but like it herself. Even if it would give away that she was stalking her profile. She scrolled down again and the next post was 2 months ago, when she changed her profile picture. She was stood in Times Square in New York, looking off into the distance as the busy roads and buildings were reflected from the lens of her designer sunglasses. Alison didn't even realize that she was full on gawping at the picture. Again, that picture received 275 likes and she was shocked at how popular Emily actually was. Alison thought the 82 likes on her profile picture were a lot.

She caught sight of the time at the top of her screen, 10.48pm. She had to be up at 6 in the morning as she had school but she still needed to have a shower. She hoisted herself off the couch, quickly turning off all the lights and the TV before sprinting up the stairs. Although Ali could defend herself, being in the big huge house by herself scared her. This is the 3rd time this month that Adam and Mona have been out of town at meetings at other similar hospitals around the country.

Once out the shower, she headed over to her bed, snuggling under the covers before bringing her MacBook onto her lap and logging into Facebook. She was looking at some heated debate between Spencer and Hanna about some grammar mistake Hanna has made in her status when a message popped up. She didn't bother to look, thinking it will just be Charlotte asking her why she isn't asleep or Hanna sending her the link to a new music video on YouTube. She continued reading Spencer and Hanna's argument until she got a notification, her eyes instantly drawn to the name, 'Emily Fields liked your profile picture'. Her heart rate picked up, clicking on the link to send her to the picture to check it was real. Emily liked her picture. It's stupid because everyone likes everyone's picture on Facebook but the fact that it was Emily who went onto her profile and liked it made her heart simultaneously combust and melt at the same time. The laptop pinged, signalling that the person had messaged her again so she quickly looked down at the message box.

'Hey Ali :)'

'Are you ignoring me? Haha'

Of course it was Emily.

 **A:** Hey :)

 **E:** how are you?

 **A:** I'm good thanks, you?

 **E:** yeah I'm good, just finished working out, I go on shift soon

 **A:** oh well I hope it goes well, I sent you a bed cover in the mail yesterday

 **E:** you did? :D what's on it?

 **A:** it's a surprise ;)

 **E:** you know I don't like surprises :(

 **A:** don't you? I didn't know that ;)

Alison almost cringed at how flirty she was being, feeling like she was over using the wink emoji just a little. But she couldn't help herself, it's like it was natural.

 **E:** haha. You're profile picture is beautiful btw

As her eyes scanned over the message, she almost went into cardiac arrest. It was the first time that Emily had ever called her beautiful or said that she was beautiful. Alison took a deep breath, her heart almost physically hurting from lust.

 **A:** yours wasn't too bad either

 **E:** but bad enough it didn't deserve a like huh?

 **A:** what?

 **E:** I'm joking Ali haha, it's just with the other girls if we like a picture they have to return the like. It was Hanna's idea haha

 **A:** ooooh haha. You won't notice if I like it or not anyway with your 275 likes;)

 **E:** shut up;)

 **E** : I've just been summoned to do my duty so I have to go. I don't know when I'll next get to talk but hopefully it will be soon.

 **A:** I hope so too. Stay safe mermaid x

Although they were being playful throughout their conversation, Ali felt it was necessary to take it a bit more seriously even though she was still completely confused as to where she and Emily stood. They both confessed their love for each other 10 days ago and now they are speaking like it didn't even happen. That seems to be a common occurrence in their relationship.

 **E:** I will stay safe. I need to stay safe so I can hear you say that to my face haha. Goodnight Ali x

The green dot next to her name disappeared as it signaled she was now offline. Ali just sat there, staring at the screen as something inside her felt hollow. She was sure that Emily was going to say 'I love you' at the end of her message and she would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed or a little upset. She wondered if Emily just said those things at the airport thinking she wouldn't be seeing or speaking to her again. But then again, she was the one who added Ali and messaged her first. The time was now nearly 12.30 am so she shut her computer down and climbed into bed, the thought of Emily still whizzing around her head.

 _ **25th October- 145 days until Emily returns**_

'I'm coming jeez woman!' Hanna said, hopping to the car whilst trying to slip her wedges on. Alison was sat in the car, impatiently tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.

'What took you so long?' Alison said, pulling away before Hanna had even closed the door.

'Oh I missed you too' Hanna said, turning on the radio for Alison to turn it straight back off again.

'I haven't seen you in like 3 weeks Han, not 3 years.' She said, as Hanna still continued to turn on the radio.

'Yeah well you missed Emily more after an hour than you did for me in them 3 weeks.'

'Yeah that's true' Alison said, the mention of Emily's name making her heart ache. Emily had been moved out to a base in Musa Qaleh for 3 weeks where she didn't have internet or any of her near luxuries. According to Hanna she was sleeping on the floor. That, however, turned out not to be true as Emily was stationed at a base with the Chinook helicopters ready for medical evacuation. Lucky for her, they were the more sanitized and luxurious facilities.

'Why did we have to go shopping this early Ali? I don't even think the shops will be open'

'Jason, Charlotte and I have a family therapy session at 3 so I need to be back. And I wouldn't complain Marin because you were the one dragging me to this Halloween party thing anyway.' Like all those years ago, Rosewood was throwing a Halloween train again with the after party being at The Radley.

'Ali the after party is at your brother and sister's restaurant-bar thing. And plus you're going with Rollins'

'No I'm not' she sighed. 'Him and the hospital staff are all going together as crazy doctors and nurses.'

'That's ironic considering where they work' Hanna smirked, receiving a glare from Alison. 'Anyway, what are you dressing up as? Queen Ali D always needs to be the star of the show'

'One, don't call me Ali D again that's not my name anymore and B, I do not need nor want to be centre of attention. I want nothing slutty or too revealing, basically the complete opposite of whatever you're getting' she teased, edging her way towards the door of the car to avoid Hanna hitting her.

'Excuse me but me and Caleb are going as Alice in wonderland and the mad hatter'

'You already have your costume?'

'No, I'm picking them up today.'

'Then why am I here?'

'Because I'm making sure you're getting a hot outfit so you can sent a pic to Em' she winked, dragging the blonde out of the parking lot and towards the mall.

'Hanna I'm not sending her a picture of me in a slutty outfit'

'Jeez the old Ali was way more fun than this, even if she was a bitch' Hanna said, causing Alison to nip her arm playfully.

 ***2 hours later***

'I really don't know Han' Alison said, looking in the mirror at the costume she was wearing. It was a superwoman costume.

'It's a bit _too_ short' she said, trying to pull down the skirt.

'Since when did Alison DiLaurentis care about how short her skirt was?'

'Since I became married?' She said, more of a question than a statement.

'Oh please, we all know that was over before it began' Hanna said, lifting the cape and letting go so it floated down to rest against Ali's back. 'Ali you're getting this, the knee high boots as well.' She said, practically shoving her back into the changing room to get changed. Hanna was stood outside, waiting less than impatiently when her phone beeped: _**'I spy with my little eye, something beginning with H. -A'**_ she looked up to see Charlotte stood smirking at her.

'That isn't fucking funny Charlotte' she said, walking over to her and thumping her on the arm.

'Ow Hanna what the fuck' she said, grabbing a toy sword from the shelf next to her and began prodding it at Hanna.

'Charlotte seriously, go away. Don't you think you've fucking tortured me enough' she said, and although her commented was light hearted Charlotte instantly stopped, putting the sword down with an apologetic look on her face. Hanna smiled, 'what are you doing here anyway?'

'I've come to pick out my outfit for the Halloween party and to see Ali's hot outfit she's going to show Emily' she smirked, causing Hanna to laugh and high five her.

'As much as I really hate you I do love you sometimes' Hanna said, as she heard Alison huff from behind the changing room door as she swung it open and stepped past them both and headed towards the checkout.

 ***6 hours later***

Alison was sat in the living room cuddled up on the couch with a blanket watching Friends when her phone buzzed. She quickly picked it up, hoping it was a message from the one person she hadn't heard from in over 3 weeks.

 **E:** Hey, sorry I haven't spoken in so long, I've just got back to bastion from my time at the other base.

 **A:** hey don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're safe and okay :)

 **E:** I'm more than okay, especially now I have my new bed cover :D thank you I love it!

Ali had bought Emily a bed set with an under the sea scenario on it with fish and turtles, dolphins, sharks, everything. Then when she's asleep, she'll be lying under the sea like a real mermaid.

 **A:** now you can sleep like a real mermaid.

 **E** : haha is that why you got it? I thought it was because my favorite animal is a dolphin

Alison was genuinely offended considering the amount of thought she put into it.

 **E:** that's very thoughtful thank you. You've made me smile

 **A:** I'm glad :)

 **E** : what costume did you get for the Halloween thing? I better get a pic ;)

 **A:** what?

 **E:** hahahahaha I'm joking. Hanna dared me to say it

 **A:** that's not funny Em. When have you spoke to Hanna?

 **E:** just before you

She knows it's stupid but she couldn't help feel a slight twinge of jealously at the thought of the other blonde being Emily's top priority to get in touch with.

 **E:** I know what you're thinking Ali and it's not true. I've spoken to Spencer and Aria too and I thought I'd talk to them first because I knew I'd be talking to you the longest

 **A:** aw that's sweet, do you have anyone else to message?

 **E:** yeah my mom, she'll be ringing soon

 **A:** I went round to see her the other day, she was showing me baby photos ;)

 **E:** oh god

 **A:** you were a very cute baby, I would certainly be happy if my kids looked like you

 **E:** maybe they will

 **A:** I hope so, then I won't have to worry about them screwing up their school photos because I know they'll be perfect

Although Emily's comment made her heart flutter, it freaked her out as reality once again dawned on her about their situation. She couldn't think about having children with Emily. She was still married to _Rollins_ and they hadn't even discussed kid yet. She knows she probably ruined the moment by attempting to joke but she had no idea what else to put.

 **E:** I have to go, my mom's calling. Night Ali x

 **A:** night Em x

Even the little things like putting a kiss on the end of the message made Ali go from being on cloud 9 to cloud 90. Even though they still didn't know where they stood with one another, Ali was still slightly upset that Emily still hadn't said 'I love you' again. I guess she could only find out where they stood in 145 days when she returned.

* * *

 _ **A/N : there may be some drama next chapter that i think you will like ;) What did you think about the chapter being all in 3rd person? Keep reviewing etc, I'd love to know what you think.**_


	15. Happy Halloween?

**_A/N: Thank you for all your lovely reviews but i just want to point out a few things. Idk if you know but i'm from the UK and i try to go through and change the spellings of things and say different things the way you say/spell them in the US but if i do say something wrong/spell something wrong i'm sorry!_**

* * *

 _ **31st October- 139 days until Emily returns**_

 ***No one POV***

"Ali?"

"Ali?" Rollins repeated, walking into their bedroom wearing surgeon scrubs and a bag of fake blood in his hand. "I need your help," he said, holding the bag up as he caught her glance in her dressing table mirror. She stood up, her costume already on, as he looked her up and down.

"It's not too short is it?" She said, all of a sudden conscious of Hanna's costume choice as after all she was married.

"No it looks great, I like a girl in a short skirt," he smirked, handing the fake blood to her.

"You mean you like your _wife_ in a short skirt? Not just any random girl," she said, raising her eyebrow.

He chuckled, "You know what I mean."

"Hmmm," She mumbled as she took the blood back and began smothering it all over his costume. She got to his ankles when his phone started ringing, causing him to quickly move over to the nightstand so the blood back tipped all over the floor – and Ali. "For God sake Adam," She grumbled, running into the bathroom to place the blood bag in the sink before returning with a towel to wipe up the blood from the floor.

"Hey, Mona!" Rollins chirped. "Yeah I'm just here with Ali now….. I think she is going with Hanna and everyone….uh huh….I can pick you up if you like?... I have some fake blood…yeah come around to our house and I'll sort you out…see you soon…okay bye." He placed the phone down before looking over at Ali who was on the floor, towel in hand, raising her eyebrow at him.

"What?" He said, a little too defensively for Ali's liking.

"Are you not going to offer to help clean this up?" She said. She could see his face visibly relax a little before he smiled and joined her on the floor.

They had just finished mopping up the mess and Ali was just cleaning the fake blood off her leg when the doorbell went.

"That will be Mona," Rollins said, rushing out the door and down the stairs. From their en suite bathroom Ali couldn't hear downstairs but as she exited the bathroom she was confused that she couldn't hear Rollins or Mona downstairs. She turned around, heading over to her dresser to finalize her hair. She heard the door click shut however looking into the mirror of her dresser she couldn't see anyone.

"Adam?" She called, turning around to be greeted by silence. She got up from her dresser, heading into the bathroom to see if he was hiding. Before she had time to call his name, a hand was placed over her mouth very similar to a way all those years ago. As the panic set in, she struggled to free herself only to find the person wasn't holding on to her anymore.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD," She screamed. When she turned around it was like she was looking into a reoccurring nightmare. The person stood in front of her was wearing one of the thought-to-have-been-destroyed Alison masks, blonde hair and a legendary red trench coat. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she ripped off the mask to find the one and only Charlotte DiLaurentis holding in her laughter. "What the actual fuck! You absolute bitch!" She screamed, throwing the mask on the floor before shoving Charlotte back causing her to lose her footing and fall into the bathtub.

"Calm your tits Ali, jeez it was a joke," She said, trying to get Alison's hands off of her.

"Well it wasn't fucking funny!" She shouted, climbing on top of her to pin her down.

"It was," A voice chuckled. She turned around to find Adam stood in the doorway.

"Did you set her up to this?" She said, temporarily releasing her grip from Charlotte.

"The costume idea was hers, the scaring part was mine," He confessed, still chuckling at the image of Ali flipping out and Charlotte falling into the bathtub. She jumped out of the bathtub, heading over to Rollins and smacking him, pretty hard, on the arm.

"I don't fucking think so," She said as Charlotte tried to get out of the tub. Ali walked back over, pushing her back down before turning on the tap. "No way are you going to the party like that. No fucking way," She said, pushing her under the tap causing her to scream.

"Ali that's freezing! Ali stop! I'm sorry jeez," She cried, not sure whether she wanted to laugh or cry.

"Good," She said. Once Charlotte was absolutely soaked from head to toe and she was satisfied, she let go of her grip. She walked over to the mask, picking it up and snapping it in half before breaking bits off and throwing them at Charlotte who was still laid soaking wet in the tub.

"Can I get out and get into my real costume now?" She asked, to which Alison just mumbled an 'I suppose so' before walking off downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, she was surprised to see Mona there in a very revealing nurses outfit with fake blood now smothered all over her.

"Hey Ali," She smiled.

"Hey Mona," Ali smiled, before they were both interrupted by Rollins walking in.

"Right we are off Ali, I'll see you there," He smiled, as him and Mona made their way out of the kitchen. Ali was just stood blinking at the front door, completely baffled by what just happened. That was the first time that Rollins had ever left without either kissing her goodbye or saying 'I love you'.

"Ali why are you stood there looking like a gormless crocodile?" Charlotte said, descending the stairs and standing in front of Ali. Drawing her eyes back to focus on the person in front of her, she raised her eyebrows and she looked over Charlotte's choice of costume.

"Erm what's this?" She said, pointing to her costume which was the exact same as Ali's except she was Batman.

"We are the super hero sisters. After all, that's what we are right?" She laughed nervously, even after all these years she still fears rejection from her sister.

"Of course we are," Ali smiled, pulling her sister into a reassuring hug as she sensed her unease. They both left the house, opting to walk to the station as they both knew they'd be drinking.

"Have you heard from Emily?" Charlotte said, linking her arm with her sister; it was a common occurrence in their relationship.

"No not for almost a week, since we went costume shopping," She sighed.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do?" Charlotte said, grasping Ali's left with her free hand and signalling towards her rings.

"No, I don't want to. Everything is such a mess. I think I'm regretting telling her I love her and kissing her. It's just made everything even more complex."

"Hey don't say that. Doing that has gave Emily a reason to want to live. I know she has her mom and things but now she has a reason why she _needs_ to come back. It will have gave her motivation."

"I guess so. But even when she does come back, what then? It's not like we can be together."

"Why not?" Charlotte said, causing Ali to turn to her and give her a look which suggests she had just said that the grass is red. Charlotte tutted, "Yes Ali I am aware that you are married. But you can't stay married to Rollins if you love Emily."

"I know I can't but I'm just scared. It will break his heart," She said, earning an unconvincing look from Charlotte.

"And the real reason you're scared?" Charlotte said, "Come on Ali you know you can tell me anything."

"So me and Adam get divorced and Em and I finally get together, but then she'll be away for 6 months at a time in the Army and I'll be all alone. And if she dies…. I can't stand the thought of being on my own," She said quietly, looking down almost embarrassed at her confession.

"Hey, Ali look at me," Charlotte instructed, stopping them dead in their tracks and lifting Ali's face towards her. "You will always have me, Jason and the other girls. And you'll _always_ have Emily." She smiled, "Here," she said, pointing to Ali's heart, "And here," She said, now pointing to the mermaid necklace around her neck. "For once in your life follow you heart Ali," She said, wiping the tear that was making its way down her sister's cheek before pulling her into a hug. "Hell I'll get you a dog at Christmas if I need to," She chuckled.

"Thank you."

"I love you baby sis."

"I love you too," She said, pulling away. "Now let's go get drunk and enjoy this party," She smiled.

"Now there's the Ali D I know and love," Charlotte cheered.

"Stop calling me Ali D, you're worse than Hanna."

"You wouldn't be Ali D if it wasn't for me so I think I have the right to call you that," She smiled, causing Alison to chuckle. "When it comes to partying with moi, you'll always be Ali D" Charlotte laughed, dragging Ali along the sidewalk as she was beginning to get cold.

They were first going to The Radley where everyone was waiting to get on the shuttle buses to Rosewood Train Station. There were several trains leaving due to the number of people wanting to get on and they had to separate the adults from teens. When they arrived at The Radley it was jam packed with people, inside and out, who were all dressed up in an array of costumes.

"Alison, Charlotte," The security guard on the door said as he handed them both a purple wristband. The different colored wristbands signified which train you would be getting on.

"Damn our brother has done a good job," Charlotte said, as they both stood taking in the sight in front of them. All the waiters were dressed as 'crazy waiters' with their shirts ripped and blood stains etc. and they were handing out cocktails with fake eyeballs or fingers in. The place was engulfed in fake trees to make it look like scary woods. Smoke filled the 'woods' from smoke machines and there were several props like graveyards, coffins and huge cobwebs hanging off the trees.

"Thanks," Ali smiled, taking a 'bloody eyeball' cocktail from one of the waiters as she and Charlotte made their way through the crowds to try and find everyone else.

"Hey you two!" Jason said, walking over to them wearing a very nice looking vampire costume, fangs included.

"Hey, good job with the décor I love it!" Ali said, still looking around to try and find everyone.

"If you're trying to find Hanna she's over at the cocktail bar," He smiled, walking off towards a group of people.

"Of course she is," Ali mumbled, heading off in the direction of the cocktail bar. When she arrived Hanna, Caleb, Spencer, Toby, Aria, Mike and Ezra were stood there sipping on their cocktails.

"Well if it isn't double trouble," Hanna said, her eyes already sparkling from her presumably excessive alcohol consumption. Ali just smiled at her before greeting everyone else around their little table, her conversation falling on writing with Aria.

"All purple wristband holders please make your way to the parking lot. That's all purple wristband holders please make your way to the parking lot," The DJ said over the speakers.

"Guys that's us," Spencer stated, her and Toby had decided to go as Harry Potter and Hermione Grainger whilst Aria and Ezra also opted to match as Wednesday Addams and Gomez Addams. Ali looked around to make sure Charlotte was still with them, only to find her and Mike laughing away as they followed behind. She smiled, settling with walking with Hanna. It was a relief to see Charlotte having fun with Mike as it meant that she wouldn't have to keep checking on her throughout the night.

"Hey babe," Rollins said as he, Mona, Wren and a few other colleagues came up behind them in the queue.

"Hey," She smiled, but Rollins' attention soon fell on one of the other doctors who was telling some kind of horror story. As they were the executive VIP purple wristbands, they didn't have to wait long before they were allowed onto their train. As purple wristband holders they had many privileges such as free alcoholic beverages and food all night and the band playing on their train was Imagine Dragons. It was a long shot asking them to come to a small town like Rosewood, but when they found out it was all raising money for the children's cancer ward at the Philadelphia Children's Hospital they agreed without a second thought.

As soon as they got into the carriage, Hanna ran over to the champagne fountain and poured herself a glass, downing it in one before refilling it and grabbing everyone else a glass as they were already on the dance floor right at the front.

"Get these down your necks, and there's plenty more where they came from," Hanna smiled, handing them out like a waiter. She was so busy making sure everyone else was drinking alcohol that she didn't even see the band come on.

"Good evening VIPs of Rosewood, let's start the night off with one you should all know," Dan Reynolds said before the band began playing Demons.

"Oh my God," Hanna said, quickly finishing off her glass before shoving it at a waiter who was doing his rounds and pushed her way through the crowd to the front. "WHEN YOU FEEL MY HEAT, LOOK INTO MY EYES," She Screamed, flinging her arm around Ali's neck.

After another 5 songs, the band was having a set break so they all took refuge on one of the table seats in the next carriage.

"RADIOACTIVEEEEEE," Hanna screamed as everyone was mid conversation about what they were doing at Christmas.

"Hanna will you shut up! Caleb make sure she doesn't drink anymore," Spencer said, removing the champagne flute from Hanna's hand causing her to pout but she shut up none the less.

"Has anyone seen Adam?" Ali asked, walking over to the table having failed in finding her husband.

"No, I think he was towards the back of the train last time I saw him," Toby said, handing her a 'creepy crawly' cocktail.

"Thanks," She mumbled, weaving her way in and out of the crowd of people stood congregated in the aisles of the several carriages. Several carriages down, there were 3 carriages with compartments for people who want to escape the madness at the front of the train. As she walked down the aisle, peering inside each compartment, she couldn't help but feel a slight shiver run down her spine. This area of the train was completely deserted with an eerie draft present.

"Adam?" She called, opening the compartments with the curtains closed. She stopped dead in her tracks as she was almost certain she heard someone else call her husband's name. It was almost a faint whisper but she definitely heard it. She continued searching the carriages until she got to the one right at the end.

"Adam?" She called, opening the door to the last compartment. "Oh my God," She said, halting to a stop as she took in the scene before her. She found her husband alright. Found him with his tongue down Mona's throat as their clothes were scattered around the compartment like a confetti machine had exploded.

"Ali?!" He said, pushing himself away from Mona and looked at his wife almost like he was waiting for her to shout at him, lash out at him, anything – but it didn't come. Ali was just stood, staring at the two of them unable to comprehend what she had just witnessed. "Ali, please," He said, picking up his top and placing it back on before walking over to her, reaching out his arm but she moved away.

"Don't," She said, her voice involuntarily cracked as she backed out of the compartment. She slammed the door closed before she ran. She didn't know where she was running to, after all they were on a train but she ran as far away from the compartment as she could.

"Alison?" A voice asked, as she completely shoved the person out of the way. She didn't know who it was, she didn't care, she just needed to keep moving. She found refuge in an empty carriage where she leaned back against the wall, taking deep breaths to get her heart race back to normal.

"Alison?" The same voice called again, this time with concern rather than confusion. "Are you okay?" The voice asked, reaching out to hold her arm gently. As she looked up, she was met by a familiar pair of eyes, but a pair she was not expecting.

"I'm fine." She said, wiping the tears. "I'm fine, Lucas," She repeated, trying to steady her voice to make it sound more convincing.

"No you're not okay. Come here," He said, placing his camera down before pulling her into a hug. Ali almost collapsed into his arms, causing them to fall into a huddle on the floor. Over the years, Lucas had become a very successful photographer and he was obviously the official photographer for the event. He and Ali put aside their differences when he began doing a lot of promo work for Jason and The Radley and although they wouldn't necessarily be classed as friends, they were definitely on friendly terms now.

"Okay now this isn't a sight I thought I'd see," Charlotte said, looking down at the two of them on the floor however when she saw the mascara running down her sister's cheek, she instantly was on the floor next to them trying to comfort her sister.

"Ali what the hell happened?" She took Ali into her own arms, dismissing Lucas but not before thanking him of course.

"Rollins…..Mona…." She couldn't even get the words out but her sister knew exactly what she was trying to say.

"They were hooking up and you caught them? _Shit_ ," She mumbled, resting her chin on Ali's head as she rubbed circles on her back. They remained silent for almost 10 minutes, Charlotte wanting to focus on getting Ali calm.

"Ali why are you so upset? This is the perfect excuse for you to leave him. You can have Emily," She smiled.

"Trust you to be thinking of tactics when I've just been cheated on."

"Ali you said you were scared you would break his heart."

"And getting mine broke wasn't exactly the compromise I had in mind."

"Why is your heart broken when you love Emily?"

"I don't know. I have just caught my husband, who's supposed to love me, cheating on me. I guess it's the betrayal. I don't know. My head is everywhere and I just want to go home."

"Come on then, the train has already stopped that's why I came to get you," Charlotte smiled, standing up before offering her hand to her sister and helping her up. Luckily, everyone was already off the train by the time they got to the doors.

"There you are, I was worried sick," Aria said, pulling them both into a hug.

"I need to get Ali home, where is everyone?"

"Spencer took Hanna home because she was far too drunk and the boys are inside The Radley getting us a table. Why are you going home, are you okay?"

"Well if you class catching your husband cheating with his co-worker as fine then I guess so," Charlotte said, smirking when she sees Aria's jaw almost touch the floor.

"Oh my God Ali I'm sorry," She said, before Charlotte lead her away towards her house.

"If you don't want to go back there you can always come with me," Charlotte suggested as they made their way down the sidewalk on the road of Ali's house.

"I'll be fine," She whispered. As she unlocked the door, she made her way upstairs and stripped off her costume before placing a white, fluffy bunny onesie on and getting into bed.

"Here, let me take your make up off you'll get spots otherwise," Charlotte said as she began to use a wipe to take off her make up and moisturizing her face. She placed a kiss on her head before tucking her in. "Good night," She got up but a hand grabbed her arm.

"Will you stay with me?" Ali pleaded quietly, her eyes were red and bloodshot.

"Of course," She said, turning off the lights before climbing into bed next to her sister and pulling her into her arms.

"I love you Ali, all your friends love you, Jason loves you and Emily loves you," She whispered, rubbing her sister's back. When she got no reply she looked down to see Ali fast asleep. She smiled, placing another kiss on her head and closing her own eyes, letting the sleep take over her body.

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 **A/N: Let me know what you think!**


	16. Bittersweet

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your kind reviews etc, I hope you like this chapter!**

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 **5** **th** **November – 134 days until Emily returns**

It was now 5 days after Halloween and Alison has since been spending time with Hanna in New York, taking personal time off from work. She's yet to speak to Emily as the brunette is still out on a mission but she was set to return to Bastion within the next few days. But the inevitable has happened as Alison has had to return to Rosewood.

When she arrived back home, she got out of the cab before paying the driver and thanking him sweetly. She placed her suitcase on the floor as she looked up at her house. _Their_ house. As soon as she walks through the front door, she knows her life is going to change and whether that's for better or for worse, right now, she has no idea. It was now 7.00pm and the fall weather made it extremely cold. Zipping her coat further up towards her chin, she grabbed her suitcase and headed inside.

"Adam?" She called out, her voice echoing around their atrium. The house was in complete darkness and not to mention complete silence. She placed her suitcase down, turning on the light and removing her coat. She walked into the kitchen, instantly hit with the smell of stale alcohol and mouldy food. She turned on the light, sighing at the sight in front of her. There were beer bottles scattered all over with pizza boxes piled high on the kitchen island. She forgot, when anything gets too much for Rollins he turns to pizza and beer. She began to clear everything into a bin bag before taking it out to the trash can. When she returned to the kitchen, there was a figure sat at the kitchen island.

"Ali?" His voice was slurred.

"Yeah it's me." She sighed. The last thing she needed was having to baby sit Rollins when she has to be up early for work in the morning.

"I was worried about you," He said, getting up from the stool but falling over onto the counter as his balance was non-existent. "Where did you go?"

"I was with Hanna, let's get you up to bed," She walked over to him, placing her arm around his waist and guided him up the stairs to the guest room. It was a difficult job, him being almost 6ft tall but she managed just fine, her recent trips to the gym after Hanna forced her to sign up have clearly paid off.

"I'm sorry you found out like that Ali," Was all he said before pulling the duvet up over his body as he fell asleep almost instantly.

Ali returned to their master bedroom and got into her pajamas, snuggling up in bed and pulling out her MacBook. She went on Facebook, noticing she had 5 new notifications. She read them one by one: _**Hanna Marin and 3 others liked a photo you are tagged in, Hanna Marin tagged you in a comment, Hanna Marin liked a photo of you, The Radley has tagged you in 5 photos**_. She opened up the pictures and the first picture was a group photo of them all. She noticed the picture had 19 likes and when she looked at the names she froze. The only name that was capable of giving her heart palpitations just by looking at it was listed as one of the likers. She looked at the comments, noticing Hanna had tagged her in one, a conversation she and Emily were having in the comments:

 **Hanna Marin:** Awwwwww I love this! New cover photo for sure x

 **Emily Fields:** You guys look great! I love your costumes x

 **Hanna Marin:** Anyone's costume you like in particular? ;)

 **Emily Fields:** I mean Toby's Harry Potter costume is fantastic! Haha

 **Hanna Marin:** Ew em why are you such a geek? Alison Rollins she prefers Toby's costume to yours ;)

Alison read their conversation laughing until she reached the last comment- Hanna's. She posted it 2 hours ago and Emily hadn't replied to it. She tried pushing it away, telling herself it's because Emily didn't want anything to be inappropriate on Facebook but deep down inside she felt a sting of jealousy or heartache or _something_ which indicates that she _wanted_ Emily to reply. And then her heart sank further. Emily had been online for the first time in days and she hadn't bothered to message her. She knows it's selfish, _very_ selfish, as she probably got called out on a mission or someone else needed the computer but she couldn't help feel unwanted. She looked over at the clock as it read 00:03. She needed to be up at 6am so she closed down her laptop before trying to drift off to sleep.

 **6** **th** **November – 133 days until Emily returns**

The next morning Ali was woke up by the sound of her ever so annoying alarm practically screaming on the bed side table. She rolled out of bed; even 5 years after high school Alison still wasn't a morning person. In fact she probably shouldn't even be classed as a person in the morning, more a zombie as she monotonously did her morning routine of showering, getting dressed, doing her make-up, her hair then finally breakfast. She had almost completely forgot about the events of last night until she appeared in the kitchen doorway to find Rollins stood making pancakes and coffee for the both of them.

"Saves you going to the brew on your first day back," He smiled, pouring the coffee into a cup.

"Thanks," She said, no hint of emotion in neither her face nor voice.

"Look Ali, I really want to talk to you about this."

"What's there to talk about? You cheated on me. We are _married_." She emphasized the word married to express her disgust however she knows deep down she is being the biggest hypocrite and at the minute she's putting it down to the lack of sleep she received last night.

"Come on Ali we both know you cheated first."

"Excuse me?" She managed to say, after spitting her coffee back into the mug.

"You and Emily. I know there was something going on between you two." Ali almost laughed at the irony because _nothing_ was going on between her and Emily - until they said goodbye of course.

"There was nothing goes on between me and Emily _, trust me_."

"Ali come on, I know you are in love with her. When you told me about high school and how saying goodbye was hard but there was one person who was always the hardest but you wouldn't tell me who. It was Emily wasn't it?" Ali was almost shocked by his tone of voice, it wasn't mad and judging like a husband's should be, it was soft and understanding like the voice of Dr Rollins she thought she fell in love with 4 years ago. She didn't respond, just nodded.

"I knew as soon as I saw you and Emily look at each other in the church that she was the one you were talking about and it took me about another 10 seconds to realize that I could never look at you the way she does because she is really in love with you Ali and I know you are in love with her too. You have a picture of her on our bedside table for God sake," He said, laughing slightly which caused her to smile. He walked over to her, taking her left hand and running his fingers along her engagement and wedding ring. "I love you Ali, and I know you love me too but let's face it we aren't _in_ love with each other. You're in love with Emily and I can't - couldn't compete with that. In fact, I don't want to because she makes you so happy and that's all I ever want for you. You have been through so much you deserve to be happy." He removed her rings from her finger, "Get your girl Ali." He smiled. She didn't even realize she had tears streaming down her face until he pulled her into a hug. When they pulled away, she removed his wedding ring before placing it next to her own.

"I'm glad you've found someone who loves you the way you deserve to be loved," She smiled, wiping her tears away.

"I have," He smiled. "But I can't thank you enough for loving me when you did Ali, you really did make my life brighter and I don't want that to go. I still want us to be friends and Mona wants that too."

"Thank you for loving me too, I wouldn't have been able to get through everything if it wasn't for you. But we will still be friends, and Mona too." She smiled.

"Maybe when Emily gets home we can double date," He said playfully, causing her to laugh. "We'll talk about what we are going to do about a divorce and things tonight okay? I need to head to work," He said, putting on his jacket. Ali could only nod her head, the word divorce just makes her feel sick. It's always something you associate with bad things and Ali tries to block them out as much as possible.

It had been almost 10 minutes since Rollins had left and Alison was still sat at the Kitchen Island replaying everything that just happened over and over in her head. Everything he said seemed so genuine but it all seems too good to be true; there must be something amiss somewhere. Glancing at the clock, she shot off the chair and grabbed her things before practically running to her car - not an easy chore in Jimmy Choos.

Arriving at Rosewood high, she hopped out of her car whilst nearly wiping out a group of students.

"Sorry boys," She apologized.

"No problem miss," They all smiled in unison. Alison was _very_ aware that all the boys (and girls) had the hots for her. And if they didn't, they still loved her anyway. She strutted her way down the familiar corridors of Rosewood high, smiling as she passes the row of lockers her, Emily, Hanna, Aria and Spencer used to own. She released a sigh of relief as she reached her classroom, dumping her bag and several marked books on her desk. After practically doing an Olympic sprint to school, she now had 10 minutes until her lesson started so she decided to check her phone and social media, having not done it as soon as she woke up like she usually does. She noticed she had one notification from a Facebook message. Of course, it was from the one person she pined to hear from every day. She opened the message, smiling before she even ready it. _**'Hey Ali, sorry I didn't message you earlier I was called out on a mission. I just want to say I hope you enjoyed Halloween, you looked absolutely beautiful :) x'**_ the message was sent at 6.04am and she cursed under her breath because she could have had the opportunity to actually have a conversation with her if she had got up on time. Despite the disappointment, she couldn't help the huge grin on her face as she's gone from hanging from cloud one to floating on cloud nine. She hadn't even had the opportunity to fully check Facebook when students began pouring into the classroom, several of them rushing over to her desk pretty similar to the scene in Jingle All The Way.

"Miss, I couldn't do the homework." "Mrs Rollins I wasn't here so I didn't do the essay." "I lost the book I couldn't do it." "I forgot, I'll do it tonight I promise."

Ali hadn't even asked about homework when excuses had already started flying at her.

"Guys, sit down and we will all discuss homework when everyone gets in." She smiled, getting up from her chair and walking around to the front of the desk, perching herself against it as she talked with two students, Megan and Lucy, about a recent Taylor Swift concert they went to.

"Right, now everyone's here let's have the dreaded homework talk," She said, watching several students faces drop as they have forgot. As she was in such a god mood, it only made her laugh. "Has anyone actually done it?" She asked, not surprised when only 3 students raised their hands. "Okay, you 3 people who have done the homework, you can have a free period. Go up to the library and get on with some work or feel free to read ahead as long as you don't spoil it for anyone," She smiled, watching as the 3 students thanked her before running out of the classroom to the library.

"Everyone else, we are going to catch up what you _should_ have done at home," She said, reaching behind for her copy of Great Expectations. "So turn to chapter 29." When flicking through the pages it almost automatically falls on this chapter due to the sheer number of times that she has re-read it. To be honest, that's the only reason she is happy to do it with the class. When the class had finished reading the chapter together, she set them off doing an essay so she retreated back to her desk. She stroked the words on the page, 'I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.' In the past, she read over this quote believing that it was a coincidence that it kind of resembled her feelings for Emily however right now, this quote could not be any more suited. Despite being married, promising her loyalty and forever to Rollins, despite being discouraged from waiting for her to return, despite being in a happy place she still loves _her._ She is _in_ love with her.

The bell knocks her out of her day dream and within 5 minutes the classrooms and corridors have emptied as Alison finds herself wandering down the corridors as everyone else is off enjoying recess.

"Alison?" A voice calls from behind her. She turns around to be greeted by Mona giving her a weak smile. "Look, Ali-"

"It's fine Mona, honestly. It was meant to happen and if he makes you happy and vice versa then I'm happy for you."

"I guess now you and Emily can be together."

"Huh?" Ali said, furrowing her eyebrows which caused Mona to laugh a little.

"Ali we all know you and Emily are head over heels in love with each other. I think after everything you both deserve to be happy and together…finally," She added, causing Ali to smile at the mention of how much Emily loves her.

"I just wish everything wasn't so hard. I mean we haven't even been married 3 months and we are already getting a divorce? What will people say-"

"Ali, it doesn't matter what other people think. Screw them. All that matters is that you and Adam are both happy and end things on a happy note," She smiled, reaching out her arm to Ali's.

"That scares me though. Ending it, making it official. He said about getting a divorce and moving out this morning and it just… it made my head spin," She said, and Mona could tell she was getting herself worked up so she guided her into her office she uses when she comes in to do counselling and fetches her a glass of water.

"You don't have to rush into anything you're not comfortable with. Adam still loves you Ali and he wants you to be happy. He will always be there for you no matter what, you know that."

"I know, it's just he's going to move out to live with you and you will all be happy and together and I will be alone in that huge house, the person I love a million miles away and I don't even know if she wants to be with me or if she will even make it back."

"Hey, don't talk that. Emily will jump at any chance she has of being with you. Tell her about you and Adam, see what she says and go from there. If she knows she is coming back to her happy ending with you, I promise you she won't die. She'll resurrect or something," She said playfully, nudging Ali and succeeding in causing her to crack a slight smile. "And Adam has already said he's going to stay with you until Emily comes back. He doesn't want to just end things and leave you to it. He really cares about you. And I do too, I don't want you to feel like that either," She pulled Ali into a hug as the slight smile turned into a tear falling down her cheek.

"How did you and Adam get together?"

"Don't freak out, but it was actually Charlotte. The night we were having a party to celebrate the Mind Hospital opening I got drunk and ended up spilling my secrets to your sister and one of them was that I thought Adam was cute but I didn't intent to act upon it I promise. And then the next day she pulled me up on it and she said that you and Adam were going to call it quits and that you both didn't love each other and the wedding was an impromptu lust thing. When I found out she lied I felt awful Ali I swear."

"It's okay." She said, squeezing her hand. "I guess I should go speak to Charlotte." She sighed, getting up and walking to the door. "Thanks Mona. Not just for now, but for making Adam happy." She smiled, earning a genuine smile from Mona.

The rest of the day seemed to drag but soon enough the end of the day arrived and Alison made her way towards The Rollins Mind Hospital to see Charlotte. As she approached the reception of the hospital, she saw Rollins stood talking to a doctor of some sort.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" He smiled, heading over to her.

"I'm here to see Charlotte," She smiled, but it was the fakest smile she has ever had to pull off. Something inside her still feels a hint of sadness and panic because even though she has no idea if they are still together or where they stand, Rollins didn't kiss her or hug her when he came over and that in itself highlights how much things have already changed. That and the fact that both of them are both ringless.

"Okay, well I want to talk to you when you've finished so come down to my office. I need to take you somewhere," He said, handing her a visitor's pass and allowing her through into the hospital.

When she finally made her way up to Charlotte's private floor she knocked gently before letting herself in.

"Hello?" She called quietly. She saw Charlotte sat at her desk working away at doing some calculations to work out her dividend payments for her shares on the stock market or something similar. "Hello," She said again, this time with a raised voice so it caught the attention of her sister.

"Ali you're back!" She jumped up from her chair and instantly brought her sister into a hug.

"Yeah but I need to ask you something."

"Okay, sit down," She said, all of a sudden weary of Ali's serious tone.

"Why did you tell Mona that me and Rollins didn't love each other and encouraged them to be together?" Although the question caught her off guard, Charlotte sighed because she knew this was coming.

"Ali, I'm not blind and neither is everyone else. I've known since forever that you love Emily and when she came back for her dad's funeral I knew she loved you too. I knew you were in love with each other. Everyone could see it, even Jenna probably."

"That's low."

"It's true though… I did it for you Ali. I knew how scared you were of being the one to break Rollins' heart but I just thought if you both do the dirty on each other then you're both to blame," She shrugged.

"Charlotte! I do not need you dictating my relationships and controlling them like that, I've put up with enough of that crap and that's what drove Emily and I away in the first place!" Her voice was now substantially raised and she didn't even know why. Even Charlotte looked slightly gobsmacked but it wasn't until Ali realized what she said and how insensitive it was towards her sister that her voice softened and she apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that it's just I'm not dealing with this whole thing well."

"Ali, I did it for you. All I want in life is for you to be happy and I know as well as everyone else that you are at your happiest with Emily and I know she is the exact same. This is your opportunity to be with Emily Ali and it might be your last one, so take it. Follow your heart."

"I will, I need to tell her in person or face to face. I just need to _see_ her. I can't deal with all of this." Ali sat back down, her vision now blurry from the build-up of unshed tears. Within seconds Charlotte was sit right next to her, pulling her into her arms.

"Ali what's this really about?"

"It's November and I'm not going to see her until March. I have to wait that long to touch her, cuddle her, kiss her. I don't think I can do it, not now that I know we _can_ be together. I don't want to be here alone and her over there when we should be here together. I can't do that every single year for the rest of my life. What if we have kids? She'll miss everything."

"Woah, slow down there. Kids, Ali are you serious? You aren't even together yet and you're already worried about kids? One step at a time baby sis," She laughed, causing Ali to sniffle a slight giggle against her shoulder. "Just focus on getting through your separation with Rollins and telling Emily. Once you tell her, it will be a huge weight lifted off your shoulder. Who knows you might even have phone sex."

"Okay and I think that's my cue to leave," Ali laughed, lifting her head off Charlotte's shoulder and wiping her tears.

"I love you Ali, I'm always here for you."

"I love you too," Ali said, pulling her into a hug before saying their goodbyes. Now she just had to find out what Rollins wanted.

It didn't take long for her to find him working away in his office. She knocked gently before waiting for him to let her in.

"Come in," He said, standing up from his desk and putting his jacket on. "I want to take you somewhere." He exited his office leaving Ali confused in the doorway. "Come on," He smiled, leading the way out of the hospital. They walked for around 5 minutes to the perimeter of the hospital. At the perimeter was a small woodland area and deep in the middle was a large pond.

"What are we doing here?" Surprise clearly evident in Ali's voice. This was the exact place that he had proposed to her.

"Well, it's our special place right? And I wanted to do something to show that we will always be a part of each other's lives. I know this is a strange situation we are in, I think it's strange too, but we can get through this – together – it might be best if I move out though but it's just one little step we have to take. I want to be a part of your life Ali and I want to make sure you're okay, especially until Emily come back so I'll keep coming to visit and things."

"Thank you. This is just so strange, I didn't expect us to end like this."

"Did you think it would be better or worse?"

"Worse," She laughed. Her laugh soon faded when she noticed him get their wedding rings out of his pocket.

"I want us to throw them in the pond. That way, there will always be a sentimental value on what we had – still have – because this isn't the end Ali, it's just the beginning." He smiled, taking her hand and placing her rings in the palm of her hand.

"I like that idea," She said as he took his free hand in hers and they faced out towards the pond.

"Here's to all the special memories we have shared in the past, let them never be forgotten. And here's to our future lives, full of happiness, love, prosperity, family and hopefully still each other as close friends." He said, squeezing her hand gently.

"To us, and the future." She said, as the pair threw the rings into the pond. They watched them disappear, like the end scene on Titanic when Rose throws the necklace into the ocean. It was a very bittersweet moment but Ali knows that this is for the best but now it's official. With no rings there is no sign of marriage, except -

"When we get divorced, I want you to keep my name. Until you become a Fields of course," He smiled, causing her to smile too as it was like he read her mind. "I know how much you have grown from your old DiLaurentis reputation."

"Thank you." She said, still overwhelmed by the day's events. It is fair to say that this has been one of the weirdest days she has and will ever experience in her life.

"I'm going to stay at Mona's for a few days, give us time to process what's happening and then we can sort out getting a divorce?" He smiled, he knows how much that word freaks her out so he tried to avoid the conversation but they both know it was inevitable. "I can't wait to find out Emily's reaction, you'll have to tell me what she says," He laughs as he buttons up his jacket.

"I will."

"See you around Ali," He smiled, walking off back in the direction of the hospital. Ali just let out a deep breath, looking out over the pond. _Very bittersweet indeed_ , she thought.

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 **A/N: Soooo Ali needs to now tell Emily the news but something may just happen which brings Emily back to Rosewood a lot sooner than she expected ;) Therefore next chapter will be based around Emily. Keep reviewing etc I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter :)**


	17. Stay With Me

**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews. Just a quick note - I have no idea how the army system works at all but i hope you enjoy!**

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 **14** **th** **November – 125 days until Emily returns**

It was 5.34pm and Emily had just returned back to Kandahar Airfield after serving some time at a British base in Musa Qaleh as one of their flight medics got injured in combat during an evacuation. Having been away from the basic luxuries that were only offered at the airfield: cooked meals, hot running water, a comfy bed, mail from family and friends and several computers with internet access, Emily soon began to appreciate being back at her base camp as she let the running water of the shower cascade down her back. It had only been 6 days since her deployment out to the British base but her skin felt grimy with dust, mud and sweat. Luckily for her, when she arrived back at base, there were several letters and packages from her friends and family and the only one she had time to open was the one from her mom which contained all the 'essentials' like toothpaste, shampoo and shower gel along with a few of her favourite snacks. She poured the raspberry body wash all over her body, embracing the fruity aroma that graced her senses before she began scrubbing all the mud and dirt from places you don't even want to know.

"Fields, I've put all your mail on your bed," One of the other medics, Liam Miller, called. They had their own quarters at the camp as they were stationed there most of the time. "Lucky for you, you have the whole day off tomorrow."

"Well I have been away for 6 days, working none stop unlike you who has been sat on your lazy ass in between shifts. I didn't even have shifts!" She laughed, causing the chestnut brown man to laugh, playfully throwing a pair of socks at her as she made use of the electricity to blow dry her hair.

"Well you are the only female Critical Care Flight Paramedic who is on their first tour of duty. Even I'm not as highly trained as you and this is my third!"

"Girl power." She shrugged, falling back onto her bed and letting the soft fabric of the duvet set Ali bought her engulf her body. She couldn't help but close her eyes for two minutes…

"FIELDS!" Liam shouted, walking into their quarters.

"Huh?" Emily said, adjusting her eyes to the now dimmer light.

"You've been out for 3 hours and I'm starving so come on move it."

Emily groaned, moving from her position on the bed as she plodded over to the mess tent where she had her first hot meal in almost a week and it was her favorite – pizza and fries. When she returned to her bunk, she noticed that she still hadn't opened all the mail everyone back home had sent her. She reached for the first gift from the bag and it had Christmas wrapping paper with snowmen on it and it literally gave her heart palpitations but her heart sank. She hadn't even thought about Christmas. Being out in the desert, it didn't feel like winter and she almost forgot that Christmas was just over a month away. Not that it mattered because it wasn't like she would be celebrating out here in the middle of a warzone.

She ripped off the wrapping paper to reveal an advent calendar and a Christmas card attached. She opened it:

 _Dear Em,_

 _I'm not entirely sure when you will open it but we wanted to give you a little bit of Christmas even though you probably won't be celebrating. Also, we just want to say that we are all incredibly proud of what you are doing and we will all have our own Christmas when you come back._

 _Hope you're safe and well._

 _Love,_

 _Hanna, Aria, Ali and Spencer_

 _xx xx xx xx_

She smiled, slight tears forming in her eyes at her incredibly sweet friends. It was moments like this when you are away from them without contact that you realize just how much you appreciate them. She reached into the bag and pulled out several other gifts such as food, clean socks and underwear and several letters from family members but there was one letter at the bottom of the bag which caught her eye. The writing on the front, perfectly scripted. It was from Ali. She eagerly tore into the envelope, confused as to why the blonde wrote her a hand written letter instead of a Facebook message but she didn't care because it's a piece of the blonde she can now keep with her.

 _Hey Em,_

 _I know you're probably wondering why I am writing you a letter and the truth is because I need to. I need to tell you something and I don't know how I'll say it to your face. You know I prefer to write my feelings down rather than say them._

 _Something happened on Halloween and I was going to wait until you came back to tell you but I can't. I need to tell you now. Basically, on the Halloween train I caught Rollins cheating on me with Mona and long story short we are getting a divorce. Don't worry, it didn't end on a bad note. We are still friends but we are applying for a divorce and hopefully I will be divorced by the time you come home. You're probably wondering why the hell I'm telling you but I'm telling you because that means we can be together – I'm hoping we can be together. I know it's a long shot, we are different people now and a lot has happened but I'm sick of pushing my feelings for you away in the hope that one day they will go because they won't Emily because I am in love with you. I am hopelessly in love with you and I want a chance to see if we will work. I want a forever with you. I know you probably don't want to, but I don't care how long I have to wait. I will wait until the day I die for you to hold me in your arms because that's what I live for. This whole situation is so messed up and I'm sorry if I've made it difficult for you but I needed you to know and if you want me then I will be waiting for you when you return._

 _Love,_

 _Alison x_

Emily had to re-read the letter at least three times to get her head around what the blonde was saying. Was the blonde really saying that she wanted to be with her? Emily had waited since she was 14 for Ali to say those words and it felt good. She couldn't help the huge grin that spread across her face because she couldn't believe it. It made her chuckle slightly at the fact that Ali seemed scared that she didn't want her. It's like the tables have changed because Emily remembers all too clearly the days when she was the one chasing after the blonde.

She glanced over at the clock as it read 11.14pm and she knew that today was Saturday so Ali wouldn't be at work. She quickly grabbed her shoes and headed out of her make shift quarters to the office area with the computers and groaned when all 3 had a white piece of paper with 'No internet access' scrolled over them.

"Sorry Fields, the internet is down for at least 2 weeks so it's back to the old ways of writing I'm afraid." One of the artillery men said. She headed back to her bed, grabbing some paper and a pen before going over to the desk to write her letter to Ali. She also decided she should write one to all the girls as well, thanking them for the advent calendar. She got as far as 'Dear Ali' before scribbling it out, crumpling up the paper and throwing it in the trash can. She tried several other greetings; 'Hey Ali' 'Hi Ali' 'Hello Ali' but nothing sounded right. It either sounded too formal or too awkward. She even considered 'To my beautiful Ali' but decided it was too much too soon. She sat, tapping the end of her pen against the side of the desk. She knew by the time this letter reached her that it would be within the first few days of December so she simply started it by wishing her a merry Christmas.

 _Happy Holidays Ali,_

 _I would say that I'm sorry about you and Rollins getting a divorce but you and I both know that isn't true. I've wanted to be with you since I was 14 and I know things have been strained for us over those whole (nearly) 10 years but I do believe everything happens for a reason. It's the light at the end of the tunnel. A long and dark one haha. That light at the end of the tunnel was our future, we just didn't know it. Now we are there, everything is clearer and God or fate or whatever has finally decided that we should be together. I love you too Ali, so much .I am in love with you and of course I want you. As soon as I arrive home we can talk and discuss everything properly but knowing that you love me and knowing that you are waiting for me is all I need to get me – us – through these months. I have thought about you every single day and I will do until the day I come home. I can't wait to see you._

 _If I don't have the opportunity to talk to you have a wonderful Christmas with your family or the girls or whoever and have a happy New Year! Here's a New Year's kiss (I actually just kissed the paper)._

 _I love you, beautiful._

 _Emily x_

 _P.S I thought a hand written letter was more sentimental and romantic but we also don't have any internet and I don't know when we will :(_

She folded the paper up, placing it into an envelope and filling out her Address before writing a letter to all of the girls:

 _Hey guys!_

 _Sorry I haven't been in touch with you for so long, our internet has been down and still is for about another 2 weeks so I thought I'd write to you all instead. Thank you for your letter and the advent calendar, it made me cry! I don't know what I have done to deserve such amazing friends. I miss you all so much and I think about you all every day. I can't wait to come home and hang out with you all. We definitely need to have a sleep over or something like old times, I don't care if we are adults haha._

 _I can't wait to see you all. Love and miss you,_

 _Em x_

She filled out all the address information, deciding to send it to her Mom's house so she knows they will receive it. She didn't know what Ali's new address was so she also sent that letter to her mom's house.

 **December 12** **th** **– 97 days until Emily returns**

It had just been over 4 weeks since Emily had sent her letters to Rosewood and she still hasn't heard anything back. With it been close to Christmas, everyone was wanting to send letters/was receiving gifts or letters which means the military postal service was absolutely manic. Unfortunately for Emily, she was once again recruited on a mission away from Kandahar Airfield for the next 4 weeks and therefore wouldn't even be around to see if she got a reply before Christmas. She finished packing her rucksack with her equipment, stuffing her food rations into the side pockets before sitting on her bed. Those food rations, as it looks, were going to be her Christmas dinner. Her mind wandered back to Christmases in the past, sat around the Christmas tree with her dad wrapping presents for her mom. She cringed slightly, having being reminded that this would be her first Christmas without her dad and her mom was back home in Rosewood alone. She knew her mom wouldn't be alone, Veronica Hastings already offered to have her for Christmas and Ashley Marin has said she is always welcome.

She was just about to throw her backpack on her back and head out to the Chinook helicopter which was going to transport her to her new base when she noticed the advent calendar sat at the side of her bed. She picked it up, popping open the 12th door and sighing as the chocolate melted onto her tongue. She knew this was going to be the last time she tasted chocolate in a while.

"Come on Fields!" Miller shouted from the door. She threw the advent calendar on her bed before throwing her backpack on to her back. "How excited are you to work with me?" He said, smirking playfully.

"More than you could ever know," She smiled. It is true, over the past few months being in Afghanistan together Liam had become like a brother to her and she appreciated his company a lot despite how annoying he can be at times.

They arrived at their new base, a far cry from their home at Kandahar Airfield. The base was located deep in enemy territory and therefore heavily armed with snipers and machine guns at posts around the perimeter. When they were chauffeured to their new living quarters, they both simultaneously let out a disfavored sigh. They were lucky as they were out of the intense desert heat but they were sleeping on the floor with nothing more than their jackets and a sleeping bag as bedding – they didn't even have a pillow. They both shared a look of displeasure before laughing slightly as they knew they would have to resort to extreme measures to make sure the next 4 weeks go by quickly.

 **December 18** **th** **– 95 days until Emily returns**

04.56am.

The sun was just creeping up above the mountainous surroundings of Helmand Province. The barren land had fallen silent in the early hours of the morning after several hours of heavy gunfight. Fortunately for Emily, she wasn't on Duty and therefore could catch up on as much sleep as she could as her shift started at 03.00am.

The emergency alarm pierced through the silent quarters of the evacuation flight crew causing both Liam and Emily to shoot up, grabbing their equipment before sprinting out. Being the member of the flight crew in charge, she raced to the Tactical Operations Centre to receive the details on the rescue mission before sprinting towards the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter. It was like a scene from a movie as the pilots, Emily, Miller and 2 gunmen raced across the airfield to get to the aircraft. With Miller being an evacuation medic, it was his duty to collect the casualty from the battlefield and bring them to the aircraft and Emily was the trained flight paramedic who dealt with the patient on board, giving emergency, critical care in order to keep the casualty alive until they reached Bastion.

The helicopter practically catapulted off the ground and over the perimeter of the base as it flew over open territory to the location of the casualty.

"What have we got?" Miller asked, as Emily began preparing several pieces of equipment she may need to use.

"ANA, Cat Alpha. Amputation to left leg."

"Shit." Was his response, causing Emily to laugh nervously. This would be her first amputee victim and if Miller was scared then she knows she should be too.

"Get prepared, we're landing right at the POI." She ordered, as the aircraft began to descend quickly into open ground. The side door flew open as Miller jumped out, scrambling over to several troops around the casualty, who was already bandaged up and on a stretcher thanks to the combat medic amongst the platoon. Miller, with the help of 3 troops, was carrying the casualty when they were caught in enemy crossfire. Emily froze as she heard the cry of Miller, watching as he let go of the stretcher as fall down to the ground.

"Miller!" She screamed, scrambling out of the helicopter. "Get him in there quick!" She ordered the other troops, pointing to the casualty on the stretcher. "MILLER!" She screamed again, placing her hand on his lower stomach where a pool of blood began to seep through his uniform. "COME ON, LET'S GO." She ordered, heaving him up off the floor the best she could. He tried to steady himself but the loss of blood was making him weaker by the second. She got him into the back with the help of the other troops and laid him down next to the other casualty.

"Do you want me to come?" The combat medic asked. Everything seemed to be happening at such a rapid pace that she hadn't realized she was shaking her head. She was shaking her head at the scene in front of her, trying to tell herself it wasn't real. The combat medic nodded his head, obviously thinking she was shaking her head at him, and he closed the door as they helicopter took off.

"Shit." She said, quickly carrying out a blood sweep on the amputee. He had no other sustained injuries but the loss of blood from the amputation is enough to kill him if Emily doesn't act fast to give him blood. She glances over at Miller, she could tell he was struggling to breath. "Hang in there Miller, please." She said, frantically grabbing the blood bag and accurately inserting the needle into the casualty. "Hold this?" She asked the gunman, but it was more of a command. The gunman, realizing her situation cautiously turned around and held up the blood bag whilst Emily began to give the amputee sedative ketamine to reduce the excruciating pain.

"Em… Can't….Breath" Miller managed to say, as Emily placed an oxygen mask over his face. "I know, I'm sorting it." She said, fumbling around in one of the boxes for a chest dart. "The gunshot wound is putting pressure on your lungs and that's why you can't breathe. I'm going to help that okay?" She said, effectively removing the dart from the packet at the same time. She knew with him being an evacuation medic that he knew what she was talking about. She inserted the dart into his chest, sighing in relief when she can feel is breathing return to normal. She pressurized the wound on his lower stomach before giving him a dose of sedative ketamine.

"Please stay with me," She pleaded, her voice reflecting the exact shakiness of her hands. Miller reached his hand to hers on his stomach, giving her a weak smile before his eyes started to flutter close. "No, no, no. Miller, stay with me." She pleaded, lifting her free hand to his face, tapping his cheek until he opened his eyes but it didn't happen. She quickly maneuvered so she could check the pulse in his neck – there was no pulse. "Shit." She muttered under her breath. She urgently needed to start CPR but she couldn't take pressure off of the wound. She turned to the gunman who was still holding up the blood bag.

"Fields I can't leave my post."

"He is going to fucking die if I don't do something now stop being selfish and help me save his life." It was a demand and Emily herself was shocked at her harsh tone but at the moment her only priority was keeping Miller alive. The gunman, Todds, reluctantly moved away from his post at the side of the helicopter and moved over to Miller, applying pressure to his wound whilst Emily began CPR.

"Come on Miller," She spoke through gritted teeth as he showed no signs of a heartbeat. She was running out of time so quickly opted for mouth to mouth. Just as the helicopter was about to touch down, Miller drew a long breath, gasping as he breathed in oxygen for the first time in minutes. Emily leaned back, sighing in relied as the gunman smiled at her.

"Well done Fields," He smiled, just as the doors flew open and the ground paramedics removed both casualties from the aircraft. Emily went through all the ins and outs of their injuries and the treatment she gave them before sitting back and taking deep breaths. Her heart was beating way faster than it should, mostly filled with panic and adrenaline but now with pride because she had just brought someone back from the dead. That person being one of her best friends.

By the time Emily reached back to her quarters news had gotten around about her heroism. She was congratulated by several people of higher ranks before she was called into the Tactical Operation Center by the Battle Captain.

"Sit down Fields," He said, offering her a chair. "So I am very aware of the situation you were put in today and you should never have been put into that situation in the first place. But, I wanted to personally congratulate you on how you handled the situation because you certainly put a lot of people to shame." He smiled, causing her to smirk slightly.

"Thank you Sir."

"Both Miller and the amputee are doing fine but Miller will need surgery. The gunshot wound caused one of his lungs to collapse. He is stable but he is going to be flying out to Bastion in approximately 2 hours where he will undergo surgery and then fly to a Personnel _Recovery Center in Germany."_

"Okay." Emily nodded, not exactly sure why he was telling her this.

"Emily, I want you to go with him. He will benefit from your support and I think you deserve early leave. You've had a fantastic 3 months but I don't want to push you too soon especially since I now know what you're capable of. So pack your stuff and get ready. You'll be arriving back in Texas around the 20th."

"Wait, What?! I'm going home?"

"Merry Christmas Fields," He smiled, standing up and patting her on the shoulder. "Now go pack your things." He smiled.

Emily couldn't believe it. _She was going home_.

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 **A/N: Will Emily tell them she is coming home or will she surprise them? Will she make it home for Christmas? Let me know what you think!**


	18. It's A Surprise

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is pretty short compared to the others but i have spent about 3 hours this week deleting all the spam reviews so that took up a lot of my time. But for those of you sending in proper reviews, thank you so much!**

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 **19** **th** **December – 94 days until Emily returns**

"Ali!? Where do you want the cameras setting up?"

"Ar, you and Lucas are the experts at videographicing or whatever."

"Videography?" Aria smiled, peeking her head from behind the 3 boxes she was carrying. Ali narrowed her eyes playfully before continuing to check off all the jobs on her list.

Today was the day of the Rosewood Nativity Play at Rosewood High. Although it was mainly students involved, other members of the community were heavily involved – including Hanna, Spencer and Aria who were involuntarily volunteered by Ali.

"Ali we've lost a shepherds costume."

"Han, you're in charge of costumes deal with it yourself."

"Urgh you are such a bitch when you're stressed," She said, dramatically flinging her body around and plodding off back towards wardrobe.

"Language Marin! This is a school," She shot back to the other blonde only to be greeted by the middle finger. Although it was only 1pm and the show didn't start until 7.00pm, Ali was well and truly stressed out even though there was no reason to be because everything was coming together nicely and everyone was sticking to their schedule.

"Gingerbread Latte anyone?" A voice called, entering the theater.

"Spencer where the hell have you been? 12.30 I said to meet here not 1.00. If there is one person I thought would be punctual it's you," Ali said, glaring at her from the stage.

"Ali I think you're taking this far too seriously. Cheer up, it's Christmas," She smiled, but there was something about her smile which didn't add up - It was very smug like.

"What is it?"

"Well," She said, placing the coffees down on the stage and reaching into her pocket for something. "I have just bumped into Pam and she had a little present for us all," She got the letter out of her pocket and Ali was instantly off the stage and by her side attempting to grab the letter. 'Hey hey, hands off. It's for all over us."

"ARIA! HANNA! GET HERE NOW!" Ali screamed causing Spencer to back away, slightly startled by the blonde's voice piercing through her right eardrum.

"Jeez, if you're just going to boss me around one more time I swear to G – " Hanna's voice instantly trailed off when she saw the letter in Spencer's hand and the huge grin on both hers and Ali's faces.

"It's from Emily."

"She's replied?" Aria asked, jumping down from the stage to join the other three as they huddled around Spencer and read Emily's letter:

 _Hey guys!_

 _Sorry I haven't been in touch with you for so long, our internet has been down and still is for about another 2 weeks so I thought I'd write to you all instead. Thank you for your letter and the advent calendar, it made me cry! I don't know what I have done to deserve such amazing friends. I miss you all so much and I think about you all every day. I can't wait to come home and hang out with you all. We definitely need to have a sleep over or something like old times, I don't care if we are adults haha._

 _I can't wait to see you all. Love and miss you,_

 _Em x_

"Awwwww" They all chorused together, both Hanna and Aria wiping away a tear. Ali wanted to be happy that they had all received a letter from Emily but she couldn't help but feel disappointed? Angry? Jealous? Whatever she was feeling because she sent Emily her own letter and she hasn't received a personal one back from the brunette. _Did that mean Emily didn't want to be together? Had she made it awkward by telling Emily that she was waiting for her? Had she received the wrong message?_ She was brought out of her whirlwind train of thoughts by 3 pairs of eyes looking at her.

"Huh?"

"I said, aren't you happy that we now know Em is safe and well?" Hanna said.

"Yeah, ecstatic," She grumbled, before walking back onto the stage and behind the curtain. The other three girls just stood flabbergasted at her actions.

 _ **Meanwhile in Germany**_

Emily had only landed in Berlin 2 hours ago but she has already been checked into a complimentary hotel until her flight to Texas later in the evening. She was laid out on the bed like an angel, contemplating whether or not to ring her mom to tell her she was heading home. As much as she wanted it to be a surprise, she knew she had to tell her. She jumped off the bed before heading over to the phone in her room. The anticipation of hearing her mom's voice after so long was causing her heart to thump out of her chest as the ringing on the phone only just drowning out the sound of her thumping heart.

"Hello, Pam Fields speaking?" Emily smiled at the softness in her mom's voice. It was so calming to the brunette that she had to sit down on the edge of the bed.

"Mom."

"Emily? Is that you?" The surprise in her voice made Emily chuckle slightly.

"Yeah mom it's me."

"Oh honey, I'm so glad you're safe. I've been worried sick these past few weeks."

"Yeah I'm fine don't worry. I actually have something I need to tell you…"

"Please tell me you're not injured."

"No mom, I'm in Germany."

"You're what?!"

"I'm in Germany, I'm flying back to Texas this evening," She said, smiling when she heard her mom gasp at the other end of the phone.

"Why? What happened?"

"I was on a rescue mission with Miller and he ended up getting shot. I had to keep him and an amputee alive by myself. I flew out to Germany this morning with Miller because he's receiving recovery care here."

"Oh sweetheart I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you. I'm coming home for Christmas Mom!"

"Have you told the girls?"

"No, I want to surprise them when I get home."

"Okay, well ring me when you arrive in Texas. I can't wait to see you."

"I can't wait to see you either mom."

"Have a safe flight, I love you."

"I love you too, see you soon."

"Yeah, see you soon honey," Her mom chuckled, the situation still not sinking in. Emily smiled, putting down the phone before falling back onto the bed and smiling at the image of the girls' faces when she turns up in Rosewood for Christmas. Although this would be her first Christmas without her dad, she knew it was going to be one of the best Christmases she's ever had.

 **Back in Rosewood…**

It was close approaching 7.30pm when Pam made it to Rosewood High. She had just got off the phone from Emily when she realized the time.

"Hey Pam, sit with us," Ashley Marin smiled, waving her over to where she and Ted were sat. "How are you?"

"Really good actually, I spoke to Emily today," Pam smiled, taking off her coat and scarf as she got comfy in her seat.

"Oh really, that's good. I'm glad she she's okay," Ashley smiled.

"Yeah, I actually wanted to ask you about something. Emily isn't in Afghanistan anymore, she's in Germany and she is flying back to Texas tonight. Something to do with someone in her team getting injured or something but she is coming home," Pam beamed, unable to hide her excitement.

"Oh Pam that's excellent news," Ashley smiled, pulling her into a hug.

"I know, but Emily doesn't want the girls to know. She wants it to be a surprise so I was wondering what you thought about asking Hanna to get them all together on Christmas Eve so she can surprise them?"

"Yeah of course, I'll see what I can do. In fact, I might ask Jason if we can all go to The Radley for our Christmas dinner so we are all together. All the girls can stay over at my house in the living room like old times or something?"

"Yeah that sounds brilliant, thank you Ashley. It will mean a lot to Emily having all the girls there with it being the first year without Wayne."

"Yeah of course, we are all like one big extended family anyway and I'm sure Veronica and Peter would love to join us as well. I think Ella and Byron are out of town visiting Mike over the holidays." Ashley smiled, before turning back to the stage as the nativity show started.

It wasn't until after the show that Pam got chance to see Alison alone due to her running late earlier on in the evening.

"Alison?" She called, instantly grabbing the blonde's attention.

"Hey Mrs Fields, did you like the show?"

"It was fantastic well done, but Alison how many times call me Pam," She said, causing the blonde to chuckle slightly. "I actually wanted to give you something," She reached into her pocket much like Spencer did earlier on in the day and Alison couldn't help but feel her heart race pick up as if she went from doing a marathon to a sprint. "When I saw it was just to you I knew it was personal so I didn't want to give it to Spencer to pass on, I know what they are all like."

Alison laughed, it was true they were a nosy bunch. "Thank you Pam, it means a lot."

"Well, you mean a lot to my daughter." She smiled the heart-warming Pam Fields smile that could make even the coldest of things melt.

"She means a lot to me too."

"I know sweetie, I hope to see you around but if I don't Merry Christmas," She smiled again, deliberately choosing her words so she didn't give anything away about Emily's surprise.

As soon as Pam turned to leave Alison looked down at the letter in her hand. She knew that whatever was written in this letter had the potential to change her life, for better or for worse. But deep down in her heart she knew it would be for the better but she couldn't wait to get home and find out for sure.

If the letter does say what she hopes it says, there is only one thing left that Alison wants – Emily to be back home.

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 **A/N: The letter that Emily sent was in the last chapter if you forgot and were wondering what it said. But the next chapter will be Christmas Eve when Emily surprises everyone so it will be extra long and extra special to make up for this week. Please continue to review, i love to know what you all think :)**


	19. All I Want For Christmas Is You

**A/N: Here it is! i decided to upload earlier as a sorry for the short update at the weekend. And this is longer so hope you like it!**

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It was now Christmas Eve and Emily arrived back in Rosewood late last night after being stuck in Texas for a few days due to the heavy snow they had received recently. Luckily, Ashley had managed to get Hanna to agree, without much persuasion of course, to ask the other girls to stay for Christmas and of course they all said yes – Even Ali who was hesitant as she didn't want Charlotte to be alone. Emily was planning to surprise them later when they were all together.

"Alison open the door now!" Hanna shouted at the door of Ali's home. To those who didn't know it was her home, they would assume it was the home of Scrooge because Ali hadn't bothered to put any decorations up. She didn't even have a Christmas tree. "Alis-"

"Hanna I heard you the first time!" She shouted, trying to be louder than the other blonde to stop her from screaming. "What the hell are you doing here at 10am?"

"It's Christmas and I'm not having you moping around your house all day."

"Hanna I'm not in the mood."

"Well get in the mood because we are heading into town to the Christmas Eve Fayre," She said, causing a light hearted sigh to come from Ali's mouth. Even though they had received a heavy influx of snowfall in the last few days, the town still put on their annual Christmas Eve Fayre which consisted of several market stalls selling everything from gifts and food to face painting, an ice rink, a photo booth, fun fair rides, Christmas themed carnival rides, a Christmas parade and a carol service at the church.

"Han, can't we just bake some ginger bread or something? Go around the fayre later when we are all together after the carol service?" Her words came out as more of a desperate plea than a question.

"Okay fine, you win. But we are making it fun, none of this moping around business."

"Okay," Ali said, trying not to crack a smile at getting her own way.

"But you better put on a Christmas jumper." Hanna said, giving her a pointed look before walking into the living room to allow her to go and get ready. "Oh and pack a bag for tonight and don't forget everyone's presents including Emily's!" She screamed, hoping Ali heard her. She wasn't entirely sure why but her mom suggested that they all took Emily's presents with them so it would be like she was there with them when they opened them on Christmas morning. It boggled her to say the least but she just went along with it anyway.

It was around an hour later that Alison finally made her way down the stairs in a khaki parka with a fluffy white inside, along with a grey bobble hat and scarf. She paired it with a pair of grey jeans and brown Chelsea boots. She looked absolutely flawless and even Hanna raised her eyebrow slightly.

"Where's the Christmas jumper?"

"In my bag. I thought we were all wearing them tomorrow?"

"Point taken. Come on let's get back to mine before it starts snowing again." She said, helping Ali by taking her 3 bags of presents whilst she carried her two bags of 'essentials'. It made Hanna chuckle because it reminded her of old times when Ali would literally bring a medium sized suitcase full of stuff to a sleepover.

"Has someone died or something?" Ali said, before internally cringing at her words as they turned onto Hanna's street. The whole road was closed off and there were several police officers turning cars in the other direction.

"The Christmas parade is coming down here so they have to close all the roads off."

"What time?"

"Just before the church. Once the parade has passed everyone follows it to the church for the service. You should know this by now Ali jeez please tell me you haven't been a Scrooge all these years."

"Nooo, I haven't," She said, narrowing her eyes at the other blonde who was giving her a look of desperation, "Rollins and I have spent the last few Christmases in Montana with his family."

"Wait, so why were you so bothered about leaving Charlotte this year?" For someone who was supposedly dumb, Hanna could be a lot like Spencer sometimes.

"Because I actually would be in Rosewood and Jason is planning something at The Radley on Christmas day. Something about a big booking wanting to have Christmas there so he won't be around for her. But, she insisted that I came with you lot because she was going to help Jason so…"

"Oh well I'm glad, we've never done anything all together like this in over 5 years."

"Except we aren't all together…."

"Ali, is this why you are being such a Scrooge? Look, Emily is out there doing something she loves and when she comes back we will all have another Christmas together."

"It still isn't the same. I'm going to have to sit there tomorrow and watch you all open gifts from your loved ones with them sat by your side," Her voice cracked causing Hanna to stop dead in her tracks. She sighed sympathetically, feeling slightly guilty that she had being so selfish and not thought about that when she also invited everyone's other halves to stay.

"I know it's going to be hard, especially now that you and Emily have actually confessed your feelings for one another but I'll make sure no one rubs anything in your face. And besides Aria doesn't have a loved one, although I am counting down the days until her and Ezra finally confess that they still love each other so we can all get passed witnessing this awkward 'we are just friends' stage," She said, using air quotes for we are just friends to exaggerate her point. Alison chuckled, Hanna really had a habit of making their lives sound like a cheesy soap opera. "They are honestly worse than you and Emily."

The pair of them spent the remainder of the morning dancing around the kitchen to Christmas songs whilst _attempting_ to make a gingerbread house.

"Hanna you're making it wonky," Ali said through gritted teeth. She was one for perfection and she was almost at breaking point with Hanna just slopping on the decoration sweets when she had them all in a specific alignment.

"Ali no one is going to care about presentation, it's more about the taste."

"Well I care, and besides I want to put it on Instagram so if Em goes on she can see what we have all been up to."

"If she knew how much of a perfection freak you were I think she would rather stay there," She said playfully as Ali mocked a gasp before reaching for the icing on the spoon and flicking it at the other blonde, causing the icing to splat against her left cheek. Hanna squealed, reaching for a handful of icing sugar but Ali was already running off before she had the chance to turn around. She heard the front door open and then shut and she knew Ali was pretending to leave so she could sneak up on her so Hanna decided to hide next to the door, the hand full of icing sugar waiting to pounce as soon as she saw movement in the doorway. As soon as she saw the shadow of someone making their way into the kitchen her hand had released the icing sugar before she even had time to see who it was.

"HANNA," A voice squealed, a voice which was _not_ Alison's. Hanna looked up to see Spencer stood in the doorway, her mouth dropped to the floor as she looked at the white icing sugar which was now sprayed all over her very expensive black trench coat and her perfectly curled hair.

"Shit, Spence I thought you were-," Hanna was cut off by Spencer launching herself for the bag of flour on the kitchen island. "Fuck," She said again, darting out of the kitchen and towards the front door. Hanna screamed as Spencer chased her around the garden with the bag of flour in her hand. With the icing still smothered on her cheek from Alison and Spencer with icing sugar in her hair and on her coat, they really did look like complete idiots. A few of the police men patrolling the streets for the parade even stopped what they were doing to watch the pair. Spencer eventually caught up with Hanna, pulling her to the floor before sitting on her and pouring the whole bag of flour over her head.

"Forget about the gingerbread house, _this_ is going on Instagram," Alison chuckled, capturing the whole thing on camera.

"What the hell is going on?" Ashley said, as her and Pam made their way up the path with grocery bags and presents in their hands.

"Just your average Spanna greeting," Alison chuckled again, before offering to help them with the bags whilst Hanna tried to wrestle Spencer off her.

It wasn't until an hour later, at 4pm, that they were waiting to go and watch the parade. They had been joined by Aria and Caleb but Ezra was busy doing a hot drinks stall for the Christmas Fayre. Hanna being Hanna had placed a mistletoe above the door into the living room so all the couples kissed and shared a hug as they greeted each other at the door.

"TOBY?!" Spencer squealed from the door, launching herself at her boyfriend. They had been back together, officially, for a few weeks now but Toby had been in Chicago on a police course and due to the snow he was supposed to be stuck there until after Christmas. Alison couldn't help but feel the stab of jealousy as she watched the scene in front of her. All she wanted was for that to be Emily walking through the door but she knew there wasn't even a slight chance of that and it hurt so bad. It was literally causing her physical chest pain to think about. She all of a sudden felt like the walls were closing in on her and she needed to get out – needed to clear her head.

"I need some air," She mumbled, pushing her way past the two love birds kissing under the mistletoe.

"Wait Ali, what about the parade?" Hanna said, grabbing her arm.

"I'll see it next year, I just need some space. I'll meet you at the church?" Hanna saw the desperation in her tear glazed eyes and all she could do was nod. She couldn't even imagine what Ali was going through, especially since their conversation earlier on in the day.

"Where's Ali gone?"

"She just needs some space."

They all got their coats on before they all made their way outside to watch the parade. Lucky for them, they could just stand right outside Hanna's house with it going down her road. Just as the parade was about to start, Aria shuffled her way over to them with 4 hot chocolates with her.

"Where's Ali?"

"If you were here on time you would know," Spence said.

"I'm sorry, there was huge queue."

"How much do we have to pay?" Hanna said, digging into her pocket.

"Oh no they're free."

"Oh they are," Hanna said, quirking an eyebrow. "And what persuasive technique did you use to get that offer?"

"None," She said, thumping her arm. "Ezra wanted to say thank you for inviting him to spend Christmas with us tomorrow."

They all huddled together, soon joined by Ashley, Ted and Pam as they watched the parade. Although it was only 4pm, the dark winter nights and the dark snow clouds made it almost pitch black but it made the parade even more magical as the Christmas lights on the floats illuminated the streets.

"Mrs Fields are you okay? You're not too cold?" Spencer asked concerned, Pam had been fidgety for the best part of half an hour. She was practically bouncing up and down.

"I'm fine dear, just excited to see the end of the parade," She laughed lightly. Although slightly confused, Spencer smiled and turned her attention back on the parade as the last few floats made their appearance at the other end of the street.

The last float that came into sight was Santa's sleigh and there was someone sat in it although they could make out who it was. As it got slightly closer they could make out that the person was wearing a Santa hat and it must have been a woman as they had long hair.

"What the-"

"Is that-"

"EMILY," Hanna screamed, as the sleigh stopped right in front of them and the brunette stood up and got off the sleigh.

"Surprise," She beamed, taking her hat off. She didn't even have chance to blink before there was blonde and brown hair being thrown at her. She laughed, pulling them all into a hug as she looked around for the only person she had wanted to see in over 3 months.

"What are you doing here?" Aria smiled, wiping the tears from under her eyes.

"One of the crew in my team got injured when we were on a mission and he flew to Germany to receive critical care and they flew me home too." Spencer also removed herself from Emily's hold as she looked up to check that it really was the tanned brunette stood in front of them.

"This is going to be the best Christmas ever," Hanna said, making no attempt to pull away from Emily.

"It is, everything is now perfect," Spencer smiled.

"Where's Ali?" Emily finally managed to ask.

"Oh my God Ali! She is going to freak out! She was having a hard time seeing us all with our partners with you not there and now you are and oh my God this is the best Christmas ever," Hanna smiled even though she was now completely bawling her eyes out.

"Han it's okay, shhhh" Emily said, pulling her tighter into the hug in an attempt to comfort her.

"So this is why we all had to bring Emily's presents?" Spencer smiled, looking over at Ashley and Pam's smug faces as they watched the scene in front of them.

"You knew?" Hanna said, pulling away to look at her mom. Ashley nodded and laughed. "As much as I want to stand here and take in your beautiful face you should go find Ali."

"I am, don't worry I know where she will be."

"Okay, should we meet you both at the church?"

"Yeah sounds good."

"Oh my God will you two be together the next time we see you?"

"I don't know Han, maybe. Well, I hope so," Emily smiled, pulling them all into a hug again and telling them how much she has missed them before heading off in the direction of the one place she knows where the blonde - _her_ blonde - will be.

As she walked down the snowy trail in the woods to the kissing rock, she couldn't help but admire how magically beautiful it looked. There were fairy lights in the trees and the snow that clung to the branches really made it look like a winter wonderland.

As she made her way out into the opening where the kissing rock came into sight, her heart skipped a beat causing her to take a sharp intake of breath. The blonde sat with her back to her, her hands placed at her sides as she sat perched on the rock. Emily just stood and admired her for a few moments, unable to control the feelings of lust and desire that were beginning to pool around in her stomach. She was about to move towards the blonde when she froze to her spot due to a sudden movement by the blonde. She looked up at the sky as the snowflakes began to fall softly to the already snow filled ground. Emily couldn't help but smile at the sight of the blonde reaching out to catch one in her palm. It was so cute that she herself almost melted. Despite the smile on her face, Emily could see the deep sadness in her eyes and it gave her the courage to step forward and finally reveal herself.

"Merry Christmas Ali," She said, her voice sounding a lot quieter than she intended but by the way she saw the blonde freeze Emily knew she had heard her. Alison turned around, the caution in her movement evident as if she didn't want to be disappointed when she eventually did fully turn. When her eyes met Emily's they grew almost twice the size, lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"Emily?" She whispered, almost scared that this was just a dream. Emily just smiled, the glow in her eyes matching that of Ali's. "It's really you?"

"Surprise," She said, her gaze not leaving the blonde's as Ali hesitantly made her way over. As she got closer she reached out to touch Emily's arm and she took a sharp breath when she realized it wasn't a dream and Emily _really was_ stood in front of her. She looked Emily in the eyes, the brown orbs sparkling back at her making her heart flutter.

"I missed you," She whispered, desperation and heart ache evident in her voice as it came out almost inaudible. Emily didn't say anything, she just placed her arms around the blonde's waist and pulled her into a long embrace. It was nothing like the hugs they had shared before, this was full of love, a comforting love that both Ali and Emily knew they would be seeing a lot more of in the future.

"I missed you too," Emily whispered as she pulled away from the embrace and wiped away the tear that was gracefully making its way down Ali's cheek. With one arm still wrapped tightly around her waist keeping the blonde flush against her body, Emily reached into her pocket with the other.

"What's that?" She said, averting the blonde's attention and she looked up when she saw the blonde turn and give her a confused look. Looking up, Ali saw the mistletoe Emily was holding up and couldn't help but let out an adorable giggle because Emily Fields was so freaking cute and romantic. She grabbed the collar of Emily's jacket to pull her down, closing the few inches in height difference as she caught the brunette's lips is a kiss that made the both of them feel like they were levitating off the ground. Alison was the first to pull away, taking Emily will her as the brunette's lips stayed firmly locked with her own. When their lips finally parted, she looked up to see the glisten in her eyes and Alison swears she has never seen anything so beautiful.

"I've waited so long to do that," Alison whispered, Emily's face only centimeters from here own. Her warm breath tickled Ali's cold, rosy cheeks. Whether they were red because they were flushed or because of the cold Emily wasn't sure but she didn't care as she once again met Alison's lips with her own, wrapping both her arms tightly around the blonde as she moved to sit down on the rock whilst pulling the blonde onto her lap.

With the snow gracefully falling onto the pair of them, they really did look like they were in a real life snow globe. Emily moved her hands under the blonde's jacket and top so her hands were in contact with her bare flesh. The warmth of Ali's skin was like fire compared to her ice cold hands but she didn't care because she needed to feel the blonde.

"As much as I would love to do this for the rest of the night, the carol service is starting soon," Ali said, pulling her lips away but keeping their foreheads pressed against one another.

"I know but I've waited over 5 years for this," Emily pouted, playfully tickling the blonde's back causing her to shiver. She gently pressed her lips against Ali's one more time, "Come on then."

"Wait, Em," Ali said, as Emily began to walk ahead, stopping her in her tracks as she turned around and took a few steps back towards the blonde. "Where does this leave us, I mean what happens now?"

"What happens now is we are going to go to the church and then we are going to go around the fayre. Me, my best friends…" Emily trailed off as she saw Ali's face drop slightly as she looked down at the floor. "…And my girlfriend." Ali looked up, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and a smile that was only ever reserved for the brunette.

"You want that?"

"I've wanted nothing more since I was 14," She nodded, once again pulling the blonde towards her and placing a gentle kiss on her slightly plump lips.

"Thank you," Alison said softly, reaching up to caress the brunette's cheek.

"For what?"

"For making me the happiest person in the world. For being you. For -" She was cut off by the brunette once again locking her lips with her own. It was literally like they were magnetically forced to one another.

"I love you."

"I love you too." It was the first time that the pair had said that to each other and actually meant it. It was a truly magical moment. "But we really should go now," Alison giggled, causing Emily to smile before taking her hand and interlocking their fingers before leading the way to the church.

As they were walking to the church, Alison couldn't help but stare at Emily from the corner of her eye. It was the first time she actually allowed herself to fully take in the brunette's beauty in over 5 years. From the way her perfect cheek bones rose when she smiled to her chiseled jawline, she was literally the definition of perfect.

"What?" Emily mumbled, a shy blush creeping into her cheeks when she noticed Alison watching her.

"Nothing," She replied innocently, causing Emily to turn her head to meet her gaze. She smiled sweetly, showing off her perfect teeth and reflecting the shy, timid Emily Alison fell in love with all those years ago. "I'm just taking in your beautiful face. And this," She said, indicating to their interlocked hands.

"You aren't having second thoughts are you? We aren't taking things too quickly?" Emily asked, panic dancing through her eyes.

"No, I'm not having second thoughts. No I don't think we are going too fast. I love you and it's about time I was allowed to show it."

Emily instantly stopped dead in front of Alison, crashing their lips together as Alison practically walked into her. "I'm never going to get tired off this," She mumbled against the blonde's lips as Alison chuckled before placing another soft kiss on Emily's lips.

"Me neither, but we really do have to get a move on. There won't be any seats left," Alison said, pushing Emily away from her as she grabbed the brunette's hand and practically dragged her along the sidewalk.

When they reached the church, it was fair to say that there was a few pair of eyes on the couple. Although most of the town knew of Alison and Rollins' separation, it was news to them that Emily was home and that she and Alison were together. To be honest, Emily was absolutely petrified that Alison didn't want everyone to see them holding hands so she instantly let go of her hand when they entered the church. However, as if reading her mind, Alison instantly intertwined their fingers, squeezing her hand gently before leading the way down the aisle to a few rows from the front where everyone was sitting.

"Oh my God, you guys are adorable," Hanna screeched as she turned around and saw the pair holding hands. It caused the pair to laugh and everyone else to turn to them. "Sit down Em," Hanna said, grabbing the brunette's free arm and dragging her down next to her and linking their arms together.

"Han, Ali can't fit on," Emily said, laughing as Hanna refused to let go of her arm but Ali was just stood next to them in the aisle with their hands still locked together.

"Aria, budge your little butt up you're taking up enough space for a bus," Hanna said, pushing her whole weight against Spencer to try and shove everyone up – and failing drastically. When everyone did manage to move up, Ali sat down beside Emily. It was a tight squeeze but she didn't care because it meant she was even closer to Emily.

The whole service consisted of Hanna fighting for Emily's attention even though her attention was fully on Ali. When they left to church to head around the fayre, Hanna was already practically dragging Emily off towards the dodgems. Emily turned to Ali, shooting her an apologetic smile.

"Go have fun with her Em," She smiled, watching as the duo raced off to have fun.

"Where's Em?" Spencer asked, stuffing her face with a cookie.

"Hanna dragged her off somewhere."

"I swear she only thinks about herself sometimes. We haven't seen her in God knows how many months as well. Come on, let's go find Aria and have our own fun."

Although disappointed that she wasn't with Emily, Ali went with Spencer to find Aria before the three of them went around the fun fair rides together. It was a miracle that they were operating with the amount of snow that they had received. They had been at the Christmas fayre around an hour before the 3 of them decided to go ice skating in the ice skating rink. Alison had just got her ice skates on and was about to enter the rink when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

"Hey Beautiful," Emily breathed against her ear, her warm breath sending shivers down Alison's spine.

"Hey, where's Hanna?" She smiled softly, turning around in Emily's arms.

"Over there with Caleb," She said, nodding to the ice rink where Hanna was clinging on to Caleb for dear life. "He managed to drag her off me eventually."

"I'm guessing you're my skating partner then?"

"I mean unless you want someone else," She smirked, already knowing the answer. Ali just shook her head, giggling, before leading the way into the ice rink, Emily's arms not leaving her waist.

"You've never done this before have you?" Emily said, chuckling as Ali wobbled trying to keep her balance.

"Sorry you're such a pro," She huffed but Emily laughed knowing the comment was light hearted. Emily was stood in front of Ali, holding onto her hands as she guided the blonde around the ice rink.

"Em," Ali warned, noticing they were skating straight towards a wobbling Hanna and Caleb. "Em watch-"

"EMILY," Hanna screeched as Emily glided straight into her, bouncing right off the blonde and into Alison, knocking her straight to the floor but as Emily had hold of her hands Emily tumbled on top of her.

"Well I didn't think we'd be in an ice rink the first time we were in this position," Emily said cheekily causing Ali to gasp, a small blush creepy to her cheeks as she thumped her chest playfully.

"When did my sweet Emily become so confident?"

"Not so shy on the streets anymore huh?" She smirked, getting off the blonde before helping her up.

"As much as shy is cute, confident is extremely hot," Alison replied matter-of-factly. Emily smiled, placing a gentle kiss on her lips before grabbing her hands and leading her off around the rink again.

They finally managed to get away from the ice rink and back to the Marin household where they had all agreed to spend the night without their men. However, Ashley hadn't yet told them all that they were all going to have Christmas dinner together at The Radley with all their families. After an hour of moving mattresses into the living room, blowing up air beds and gathering duvets and pillows, they had transformed the living room into a cozy little den. Just like old times, they all gathered on the mattresses, engulfed themselves in the duvets and snuggled up to watch Elf with gingerbread and hot chocolate.

It was around 1/4 of the way through the film when Ali sat up from her laid down position and rested her back against the couch. Not even a minute later Emily decided to join her, wrapping her arm around Ali's shoulders and bringing her into her shoulder.

"No body fondling you two please," Hanna said, reaching back to get some more gingerbread when she spotted them.

"We aren't hormonal 14 year olds Han, we can control ourselves."

"Well," Emily said, causing Ali to smack her thy playfully.

"You two are so freaking cute," Aria said, her attention on the film soon lost as she turned to the newly born couple. Emily began to play with Ali's hair, smiling when she heard her sigh and shift closer to the brunette.

"Can we play Sing Star?" Hanna said, jumping up when the end credits came on.

"Shhhh Hanna!" Spencer scolded, noticing a sleeping Ali on Emily's shoulder.

"Aw I need to get a picture of this," Aria said, getting out her camera from who knows where and snapping a couple of pictures of Alison asleep on Emily's shoulder. However, as If sensing 4 sets of eyes on her, Ali opened her eyes.

"Yes you're awake! We are playing Sing Star!" Hanna exclaimed.

"How about we just sing Christmas songs, it saves you digging out your old PlayStation?" Spencer said, trying to compromise with the now extremely hyperactive blonde (somethings never change).

"Okay," She sighed, heading over to the docking station to plug her phone in.

Half an hour later and they were all dancing around, bouncing on the couches, chairs, anything, to Christmas songs. They were currently listening to All I Want For Christmas Is You and Hanna had dragged Emily up to dance with her. At first Emily thought that Ali might be jealous, after all she hadn't really been there to see her and Hanna's relationship blossom but by the huge grin on her face as she let out an adorable giggle, Emily knew she was fine.

As per Spencer's demand, they all settled down for bed after that song. Even though Hanna had insisted that Emily slept next to her, Emily managed to snuggle down beside Alison and as the blonde had her back to her, she slipped her arms around her waist.

"Before we all head to sleep, I just want to say how grateful I am that I get to spend Christmas with you all. That you could be here with us Em, it really is going to be the best Christmas ever. I love you all, Merry Christmas," Spencer said into the darkness.

"Merry Christmas," They all chorused. The room was, finally, filled with silence and Ali turned in Emily's arms. Although it was dark, she could see Emily's eyes shining back at her through the darkness. Before she even had chance to wish her Merry Christmas the brunette had leaned in to steal a kiss from her lips.

"All I want for Christmas is you," She whispered, placing another kiss on the blonde's lips. This time more forceful as if a promise that her words were true. Alison knew those words were true and she felt the same because like the Grinch stole Christmas, Emily stole her heart.

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 **A/N: Let me know what you think! Next chapter is Christmas day :)**


	20. Merry Christmas

It was around 7am when Emily was rudely woken from her peaceful slumber by something hitting her full force in the face.

"Ouch," She grumbled, holding her face with her left hand as her right hand was paralysed by someone lying on it. She opened her eyes to see two sets of blond hair either side of her. One blonde was snuggled up against her whilst the other was practically sprawled out on top of her. Emily imagined herself, at that moment, looking like a 3 headed octopus. "Hanna, get the fuck off me." It was warm, _very warm,_ and being cocooned in-between two other bodies Emily definitely thought she was about to melt.

"I'm too hot," Hanna moaned, dramatically throwing the cover off of her before once again throwing an arm and a leg over Emily however this time she managed to smack Ali in the head in the process.

"Hanna, stop!" Emily scolded, cupping Alison's head to protect it. Luckily for the both of them Ali was a heavy sleeper so she didn't even flinch at her slight battering. It was no surprise that Spencer woke, groaning from her position on the couch.

"Maybe if you hadn't insisted on sleeping on the floor next to Em then maybe you would be nice and cool on one of these couches," Spencer smiled, her eyes still closed but she knew she would have earned herself a glare from the blonde.

"What's going on?" Aria asked, oblivious to what's going on as usual. "Actually scrap that, I don't care." Her head once again hit the pillow as she turned over to go back to sleep.

"Well seen as I was woken up at this un-Godly hour I'm going in the shower first." Spencer got up but was soon pushed back down by Hanna who then tried to scramble from the living room to the stairs but failing miserably and falling straight on top of Emily and Ali. This time the blonde wasn't so lucky as Alison finally stirred. Not wanting to face the wrath of a grumpy Alison, Hanna scurried up the stairs after Spencer.

"So it wasn't a dream, you really are here," She mumbled, snuggling in closer to Emily and laying her head on the brunette's shoulder.

"I am indeed," She said, pulling the covers further up over the pair of them and turning on her side as she brought Ali as close as possible, hiding her head in the crook of her neck.

"Mmm I love the smell of your hair," Ali whispered sleepily, causing Emily to chuckle into her neck, the vibration causing her to squirm slightly. "Is it argan oil?"

"It is. Anyway, Merry Christmas," She said, pulling her head away to look into the blonde's eyes.

"Merry Christmas," Ali smiled, leaning in to place a kiss on the brunette's lips but before she reached she was smacked in the head with a pillow. "What the fuck?" She grumbled, not taking lightly to being hit in the head for the 3rd time that morning.

"Shower time. Hurry up I want to open the presents. Don't forget your Christmas sweater Scrooge," Hanna called out, keeping her distance knowing Alison would probably attack her if she was within reaching distance. Alison got up, not before placing a delicate kiss on Emily's lips. She skilfully threw a pillow at Hanna on her way out, heading up the stairs with a spring in her step.

"You not going to join her Em?" Hanna said, wiggling her eyebrows as she threw herself down on the couch.

"No, we're not there in our relationship yet Han," She laughed, sitting up whilst rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Why not?"

"Well considering the first civilised conversation we had in 5 years was about 30 seconds before I left for over 3 months and then I returned yesterday and although we have established we are - "

"Girlfriend and girlfriend?" Hanna suggested, raising her eyebrow causing Emily to laugh.

"Yeah anyway, we haven't talked about, you know, what happens next. We've kind of just gone from being at each other's throats to being together overnight." Hanna saw the confusion in her eyes and instantly got down on the floor next to her.

"Yeah and Ali has changed a lot over the past 5 years, she's so shy and vulnerable. There's still a little bit of bitch when she's around me but it will definitely take you a while to get used to."

"I sort of liked bitch Ali sometimes. It was kinda hot," Emily smirked, causing Hanna to laugh.

"What was kinda hot?" Ali said, walking back into the living room rocking her 'Bah, Humbug' Christmas sweater.

"Emily's huge crush on me," Hanna smirked, both her and Emily expecting a snarky comment back.

"You have a thing for blondes huh?" She giggled, the sentence aimed at Emily as she sat down on the couch opposite them. Hanna raised her eyebrow at Emily, highlighting her point of what she was just saying.

"I did. Now I only have a thing for _a_ blonde."

"Oh please you've only ever had a thing for one blonde," Hanna said, causing the other two to laugh.

"True," Emily smiled, locking her gaze with Ali's from the other side of the room.

"Hellooooooo?" Hanna said, waving her arm in front of Emily. "Jeez if you're going to eye fuck at least do it when we aren't here."

"No one is eye fucking anyone, Emily got get your butt ready," Spencer ordered, her and Aria making their way into the living room with the sacks of presents. Emily groaned, dragging herself upstairs to get ready.

"Woah," Emily said, making her way out of the bathroom and nearly knocking Ali off of her feet.

"Sorry, it's just I need to talk to you."

"Okay," Emily nodded, trying not to sound nervous even though she was petrified, thinking the blonde was having second thoughts about everything.

"I heard your conversation with Hanna and- "

"Let's just enjoy Christmas today and then we'll talk about this tomorrow or when we're alone yeah?" She said, taking the blonde's hand.

"Okay," She smiled. "But we are okay though right?"

"We are perfect," She said, leaning down to place a loving kiss on her lips. She smiled when she felt Ali relax into her as she wrapped her hands around her waist.

"Okay come on, move it," Hanna said, dragging Ali out of Emily's arms before pushing the brunette into the bedroom. "You have 5 minutes otherwise we are starting without you."

It took Emily around 10 minutes to finally make her way downstairs wearing her elf Christmas sweater. With Pam and Ashely now joining them, the only available seat was on the floor. She was just about to plonk down on the floor when someone grabbed her arm, pushing her down onto the couch. Before she even had time to process who it was or what was happening, someone perched themselves on her lap. She looked up to find a pair of blue eyes staring down at her, the blonde smiling sweetly. She returned the smile, wrapping her arms around her waist to secure her on her lap. Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw her mom smile at the two of them. She smiled back, trying to hide the blush creeping into her cheeks by leaning her head into Ali's back. She was never one for displaying affection in front of her mom but by the loving smile on the older woman's face Emily knew she secretly had her approval and it meant a lot to her.

"I think I should go first seen as though it's my house," Hanna said, dragging her sack towards her.

"You may find it's _my_ house Han," Ashely said, causing the rest of them to chuckle as the blonde threw her mom a playful glare. Hanna didn't wait as she got stuck straight into her presents, thanking each of her friends individually as she opened their gifts. She received everything from perfume to a personalised shot glass with a bottle of vodka. They all decided to go around the room, Spencer was next receiving a new watch, along with chocolate and other 'stocking filler gifts'. Aria received the same, until she came across an envelope.

"Oh my God Ali, no way!" She screeched, jumping up to hug the blonde. Emily had to grab her thighs to stop her falling off her lap at the force of the little brunette.

"What did she get you?"

"Tickets to see Shania Twain!" She said, jumping off Ali and waving the tickets in Hanna's face. "Ali I can't believe it thank you."

"It's fine. Although I was hoping I would be your plus one," She giggled.

"Of course, I know how much of a country girl at heart you are too," Aria smiled, settling back down on the couch. It was now Ali's turn to open her presents, laughing at her 'My diary don't want none unless you got puns hun' diary that Hanna got her for work. She opened her other presents, receiving a spa break voucher, make-up, perfume and other little gifts.

"I'm giving you my present later," Emily whispered. Ali raised her eyebrow, causing Emily to blush when she realised how wrong her sentence sounded.

"I want to give mine to you later too," She smiled. She wanted to kiss her but she wasn't comfortable with the brunette's mom sat around 2 meters away.

"Okay Em your turn," Hanna smiled, handing her the sack. Ali got up and sat on the floor, giving Emily space to open her presents.

"A Lakers jersey?" She smiled, holding up the white/purple Lakers jersey.

"Well I know they were a big part of your Cali life and you're now a huge fan," Hanna smiled. "You don't have to wear it in public, you can just wear it to bed. I'm sure Ali would love that," She winked, causing Pam to nearly choke on her coffee and the rest of them to laugh. Emily was relieved when she looked over to see her mom had joined in the laughing. She received several other gifts including running shoes, a workout wristband thing which counts your calories etc and an iTunes gift voucher. Her present from Spencer was different as it was an envelope.

"No way. Spence?!" Emily said, looking up at the other brunette, her eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"Yep, you'll have to find your own way there and a hotel and things."

"Oh my God thank you so much!" Emily said, jumping up to give Spencer a hug.

"What are they Em?" Aria asked, curious.

"Olympic tickets for Rio to watch water polo!"

"I tried to get swimming but they were completely sold out."

"Thank you Spence!"

"No problem Em," She laughed, not expecting the extravagant reaction.

"Thank you guys, I didn't expect you all to buy me presents seen as though I wasn't going to be here," She smiled.

"You would have always been here Em, whether it was in person or spirit," Aria smiled, causing the rest of them to nod.

"Well thank you, I really do have the best set of friends and family, Merry Christmas."

"Well are you ready for your surprise?" Ashely said, Pam nodding as she placed her coffee on the table. She was greeted by a sea of eager nods. "Well, I spoke to Jason and we are ALL going to have Christmas together at The Radley. Our whole family together," She smiled, greeted by several smiles and gasps before they all ran at her and Pam, engulfing them in a group hug.

Emily was sat on the couch absentmindedly staring ahead of her. Although this was one of the best Christmases she's ever had, it was also one of the hardest with it being the first without her dad; she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty that she wasn't thinking of him as much as she should. After all, Christmas was a special time for her as a child as that's when her dad usually came home.

"Em you ready to leave?" Aria said, breaking Emily from her thoughts. She looked over to see everyone huddled around the door ready to leave.

"What are those?" She asked, Pam had a reef in her hand and she handed the other to Emily. The rest of the girls had either a lantern with a candle in or some flowers.

"You'll see sweetheart," She smiled, linking her arm with her daughter's. They all began walking, overnight they had received another heavy snow storm and Rosewood really did look like a magical wonderland. Ali was walking ahead with Aria and Spencer, her head falling back every time she laughed at something they said. It made Emily realise how lucky she was to have been given the opportunity to _finally_ be with the blonde.

They all approached Rosewood cemetery, walking up to Wayne's grave. With everyone else walking in front of them, Pam and Emily saw everyone place down their lanterns/flowers around his grave, stepping back to allow them both through.

"We just wanted to all be here and maybe say a little prayer?" Spencer suggested, earning a nod from both Pam and Emily. They all joined hands, Ali gently squeezing Emily's hand in support before giving her a weak smile. Spencer began:

"All I can think of is, Christmases long ago;  
the time spent with my loved one, and experiencing our love grow.

I bring my sorrows to you Lord, because I don't know what else to do;  
I want to focus on your birth, but I'm so lonely and blue.

I take all my sorrows, and lay them down at your feet;  
I know you can take them away, and make me complete.

Heal my broken heart, dry my tears and help me understand;  
that the death of my loved one, was never unplanned.

According to your Holy Will, You took my loved one home early;  
it's not for me to understand why, and no longer should worry.

I now understand why, and I shouldn't be blue;  
cause my loved one is in Heaven, sitting right next to You.

Merry Christmas Wayne."

"Merry Christmas Wayne," Everyone else chorused.

"We'll leave you to it," Spencer smiled, the other four smiling before leaving Pam and Emily to have some alone time with Wayne.

When Ashley, Hanna, Aria, Spencer and Ali all reached The Radley, they were greeted by both Charlotte and Jason wearing matching Santa Christmas sweaters and Santa hats.

"Merry Christmas," They all said, sharing hugs as they made their way inside, putting on their Santa hats.

"Merry Christmas sis," Jason smiled, pulling his younger sister in for a hug.

"Merry Christmas."

"Well that smile can only mean one thing," Charlotte smiled, wrapping her arms around her sister. "Where is she?"

"At Wayne's grave."

"Ahh, I'm so happy for you," She squealed. "I can't wait to see Americano."

The Radley had been completely transformed into a winter wonderland. There was huge Christmas trees, decorations and lights everywhere along with a giant inflatable Santa and snowman. Set in the middle of the restaurant was a huge table with Peter, Veronica, Toby, Ezra and Caleb already sat down. When they saw the new guests arrive, they instantly got up to greet them and it wasn't long before Pam and Emily joined them too.

"Americano!" Charlotte shouted, going over and pulling the brunette into a hug. "I guess I need to give you the big sister talk now huh?" She smirked.

"If I dare hurt her, you'll torture me?" Although the comment was light hearted, Emily saw a flicker of pain and regret cross Charlotte's face.

"I've done enough of that, don't you think? If you do hurt her, which you better not, I'll be there to pick up the pieces," She smiled.

"You won't need to," Emily smiled, pulling away from the hug. "I forgive you, you know. You've been there for Ali for all the times I wasn't and I'll never thank you enough. The past is in the past and although I probably won't forget, you won't either, I'm willing to forgive and move on."

"Thank you Emily. It really means a lot for you to say that," She smiled, a small tear escaping her eye and trickling down her cheek. Emily smiled, removing her coat and heading over to the table where everyone else was now sat down.

"Hey," She smiled, sitting down in between Ali and her mom.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine," She said, taking the blonde's hand in her own under the table as the waiters began serving the food.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Peter cheered from the head of the table, as everyone raised their champagne glasses before tucking into their food.

After far too much food and one too many glasses of wine (especially for Hanna), they all decided to have a karaoke session.

"Ali go to your house and get your guitar!" Hanna shouted, trying to get her microphone to work on the sound system.

"Yeah Ali do it, me and you can do a little gig for them," Aria smiled, looking up from her game of battleships with Ezra.

"Okay, okay," Ali smiled, getting up from her seat next to Charlotte. Unfortunately for Spencer and Toby, Ali and Charlotte were practically the dream team when it came to scrabble.

"You walk away and team DiLaurentis will forfeit," Spencer warned, raising her eyebrow.

"Fine, you two deserve to win once in a while," Ali smirked, earning a laugh from everyone else and a huff from Spencer. Miss Hastings did not take loosing very well – especially at scrabble and especially to Alison.

"Hey where are you going?" Emily asked, just catching the blonde as she was about to walk out.

"I've been summoned to get my guitar," She smiled.

"I'll come with you."

"You don't have to – "

"Ali I want to," She smiled, grabbing her jacket from the coat stand before holding the door open for the blonde. It only took them approximately 3 steps for their fingers to become interlocked.

"Here," Emily smiled, wrapping her jacket around the blonde when she caught her shivering.

"Thank you, such a gentleman," She smiled.

"Why do you presume I'm the gentleman?" Emily said with a pout which only caused Ali to let out an adorable giggle which melted her heart.

"Babe I _know_ you're the gentleman," She smiled. It was a flirtatious smile and one that Emily hadn't seen in over five years and even so it still made her whole body spin with desire.

"Things change," She shrugged.

"If you have a desire for me to be the man I will happily oblige. You know I like to be in control," She winked. Emily's knees nearly gave way; she had to slow down her pace of walking because she thought she might literally tumble over. This was the first time _, ever_ , that they were actually openly flirting with each other and Emily loved it.

"And there's me thinking queen Ali D had gone," Emily said, pushing her body closer to Alison's as she tried to unlock her front door.

"When it comes to getting what I want, there will always be queen Ali D, although you are making it out to be some sort of alter ego you have in your fantasies," She said softly causing Emily to groan slightly. Ali smirked, "Did I just uncover my sweet, shy Emily's dirty fantasies?" By the blush on the brunette's face Ali knew she had hit the jackpot, giggling to herself as she headed upstairs to get her guitar.

"I have your present," She smiled, walking back into the living room to see Emily sitting on the sofa waiting for her. The brunette turned to the blonde, who sat down beside her. She placed a small, perfectly wrapped box into her hands.

"It's not much but…"

Emily took her time in undoing the ribbon, carefully tearing off the wrapping paper to uncover a red velvet box.

"Ali, it's beautiful," She smiled, her fingers tracing over the silver Eiffel Tower charm on the necklace. She looked at the silver tag next to it, a small tear escaping her eye as she read writing.

" _How about forever?_ That's what you said to me that day in the classroom," She said, looking up to a smiling Ali who nodded.

"This isn't just a reminder of that, it's a promise that I will always love you and that one day we will go to Paris." She saw the corner of Emily's mouth twitch, Ali knew it was a sign that she was hiding something but she ignored it as she wiped the tear from the brunette's eye.

"Thank you, Ali. I love you."

"I love you too, mermaid." Emily smiled, her eyes glistening as she leaned in to kiss the blonde. The blonde moved closer, placing her hand on Emily's thy but she pulled away.

"I have your present too," She smiled, pulling out an envelope from her pocket. She handed it to Ali who hesitantly took it, trying not to shake as she loosened the seal.

"No way," She said as her eyes scanned over the contents of the envelope. "No way Emily. Is this real?"

"Yep," The brunette smiled, biting her lip as she watched Ali's reaction.

"We are going to Paris?" Ali said, looking up at the brunette who nodded. Alison squealed, throwing herself at Emily and knocking her back.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? Emily I fucking love it," She smiled, lifting her head from the brunette's neck and kissing her so hard she nearly knocked her teeth out.

"I don't know when I'm going to free next year as I don't know when I'm going back on tour," Emily said, taking the blonde's hand now that they had both recovered from Ali's impromptu attack and were both now sitting up. "But I definitely know I won't be on tour next Christmas, so I booked us to go in the second week of December."

"Thank you," Alison whispered, the tears now flowing down her cheeks.

"We'll get there, I promise." Ali knew there was a deeper meaning behind the brunette's words but she refused to think about her being shipped back off to Afghanistan until after Christmas. She looked up to face Emily, smiling softly as she squeezed her hand.

"I know. I'm sorry you're present isn't as good as Spencer's, or the one you got me but –"

"Alison, I don't care whose present was better than the other. I wouldn't care if I had no presents at all because what I truly care about is having all my loved ones with me. I don't care about anything else. Having you here with me right now is all I ever want. You're all I ever want."

Alison was about to lean in and show the blonde how much she loves her when she was smacked in the side of the head, for the 4th time now, by a snowball.

"Ouch! What the hell?" She said, turning to see two blonde's standing in the hallway with snowballs in their hands.

"Less lovey dovey, more throw to snow," Hanna said.

"You tried," Charlotte said, Spencer now joining them and laughing at Hanna's failed attempt at rhyming.

"Come on guys, it's snowing and we need Emily on our team," Spencer said.

"What about me?" Ali pouted.

"Blondes V Brunettes" Spencer smirked, making a dash for the door when both Charlotte and Hanna turned to her with their hand full snow.

"We'll finish this later," Emily smiled, kissing the blonde softly before they both ran outside to enjoy the snow with the people they loved most.

 _Merry Christmas_ , Ali thought, smiling at snow ball fight in front of her before joining in.

Merry Christmas indeed.

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 **A/N: Please leave a review and let me know what you think :)**


	21. Shut Up And Just Cuddle Me

**A/N: Sorry this has took soooooooooooo long, I've been visiting family in Australia with no laptop. p.s sorry for typos etc.**

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It was now the 30th December and Emily was sat in The Brew, absentmindedly clicking her phone to check the time every 30 seconds or so. She was sat cocooned on one of the leather sofas in the corner of the coffee shop, waiting for a phone call from her base in Texas with the date of her redeployment to Afghanistan.

It wasn't long before her phone began buzzing on the table beside her, the unknown number lighting up the screen.

"Hello?" There was a certain hesitation in her voice; a fear that she herself didn't even realize was there until she started to speak.

"Miss Fields, it's Sargent Jones calling from Fort Sam, are you available to speak?"

"Yes," She looked around the rest of the coffee shop, there wasn't many customers and those that were there were trapped in their own worlds or deep in conversation with their peers.

"We have the date for your redeployment. I'm sorry it is so short notice but you were aware of this before you left Camp Bastion." Emily simply nodded, it was true – they told her that she could have as little as one day's notice of her redeployment as she wasn't meant to be on leave. "Therefore we have used these two weeks as your R&R which you were entitled to anyway."

"When am I going back?" Emily already knew all what he was telling her and she just saw it as wasting time.

"You will be flying to Bastion from Fort Sam at 07.00 hours on the 2nd of January and therefore you need to be at Fort Sam on the eve of the 1st of January."

"Okay," She nodded. Two days. That's all she had left with her friends and family for another 3 months.

"We look forward to seeing you again, Emily."

"You too, Sarge," She said. Hearing the phone go dead on the other end, she placed it back down on the table. She swilled the last of her coffee around in the cup, thinking of how the hell she was going to tell Alison. The blonde had put off talking about it for almost the whole week Emily has been back and Emily knows she is not going to take the news well. Even more so now that they are actually an established couple, as of Facebook and every other social media account at the request of the blonde. The pair were completely overwhelmed by the support from all of their friends, old and new, and family. The blonde was currently with Jason and Charlotte for the day as she was spending the next two days without them.

When Emily eventually left The Brew, the sun was already set and the darkness was beginning to set across Rosewood. She pulled her coat tighter around her body, cursing herself for not wearing a scarf as the harsh wind burnt her exposed skin. She quickly walked back to Ali's house, she wasn't thrilled that Ali had asked her to stay in a house she once shared with her ex-husband but she agreed because all she wanted to do was make the blonde happy.

"Ali?" She called, stomping her boots on the mat to shake off the excess snow. Since Christmas day the snow had continued to fall to a point where the roads in and out of Rosewood were simply deserted as people opted for staying indoors. In fact, she wasn't exactly sure if she would be able to fly out of Philadelphia on New Year's Day.

When she received no reply from the blonde she headed on a hunt for her and it didn't take long for Emily to find her snuggled under a blanket, fast asleep on the couch with a box of chocolates under her arm and Elf playing in the background. Originally Ali wasn't too keen on the film as she thought it was 'cringe worthy' and 'not even funny' but since learning that it was Emily's favorite all time Christmas film the blonde soon became attached and has recently watched it pretty much every night.

It was fast approaching dinner time and Emily knew that Ali wouldn't feel up to cooking anything and quite frankly she couldn't be bothered either so she went into the kitchen to hunt down a pizza take out menu.

"Hey," A sleepy voice called out from behind her just as she was about to ring 'La Festa Pizzeria'.

"Hey sleepyhead, I was just going to order pizza," She said holding up the menu, "I don't think either of us are up to cooking." She walked over to the sleepy blonde and pulled her into an embrace so her head was resting against Emily's chest.

"Thank you, but you do know that pizzeria is a restaurant on the outskirts of town and it's an all you can eat buffet?" She giggled when she felt Emily pull back, her jaw open wide but it soon turned into a pout.

"But I don't want to go out into the cold," she pouted.

"We can just have take-out tonight then, we can always go to La Festa one day after New Year," She smiled, hoping the suggestion would be a good compromise for the brunette and even though her child like pouting was super adorable, Ali would do anything to turn it into a smile. However that didn't happen as Emily stiffened beside her.

"What's wrong?" The blonde asked, pulling away to see that Emily had turned two shades paler. By the way Emily was avoiding eye, contact Alison knew it was something bad and that's when it dawned on her. She knew Emily was expecting a call from Texas about her redeployment. "You've been given a date haven't you?"

Emily couldn't physically bring herself around to speak, or even look at the blonde for that matter.

"When?" The blonde asked, moving her hand to Emily's face to force her to look into her eyes. "Or should I say how long until you go?" She didn't really know how she was being so collected but she knew the brunette was crumbling inside so she had to be the strong one.

"Two days." It was almost an inaudible whisper but to Alison it was like a shout. She pulled away slightly, nodding slowly.

"I'm sorry. You didn't sign up to this Ali," Emily said, finally finding her voice although it was still a whisper.

"I did. I signed up for this the second I kissed you in the airport the first time. I understand this is part of your job Em, it's just going to be hard to get used to."

"I'm sorry you have to put up with this."

"Don't be stupid Emily. I am incredibly proud of you for what you are doing and being away will only make me, _us_ , cherish our relationship more. We won't take it for granted."

"I would never do that anyway."

"I know. But we have two days so let's make the most of it," She smiled, finally receiving a smile from Emily. She reached up to place a soft kiss on the brunette's lips whilst reaching behind her for the phone. "You go have a shower and I'll order the pizza."

It was a good 45 minutes before Emily emerged from the en-suite bathroom dressed in her Lakers jersey, which Hanna bought her for Christmas, and a pair of shorts. She wished she was comfortable in wearing the jersey _sans_ the shorts but they weren't quite _there_ in their relationship. Ali was already on the bed, Netflix up on the screen with 3 pizza boxes surrounding her.

"Now this is a sight I would die for," Emily smiled, walking to the end of the bed and taking a picture of the blonde. She walked around the side of the bed and plonked down next to Ali whilst editing the picture to upload to Instagram.

"What film should we watch?"

"Hmmm, mean girls? Love a classic," Emily smiled whilst snuggling under the covers and bringing the box of BBQ chicken pizza towards her.

"A bit of Regina George huh?"

"What can I say, there's something about blonde haired bitches thinking they rule the school that makes me weak at the knees," She smiled playfully, earning her a sharp elbow to the ribs from Ali.

It was about half an hour into the film when attention was soon drawn from the film onto each other. Emily was currently laid ton top of the blonde, a knee in between her thighs to keep her sturdy. Although this wasn't exactly new territory to the pair of them because they did go all the way all those years ago, this time is different and it is like their first time seen as though neither of them are yet to bring up _that night_. Alison reached her hands below the jersey, resting her finger tips on the brunette's well tones abs. She would make a comment on how much she loved them but the brunette was doing magical things to her neck with her mouth and Alison didn't think she would be able to formulate a sentence.

"Off," Ali finally mumbled, her fingertips glided down Emily's stomach to the hem of her jersey. The brunette groaned into her neck before pulling back and lifting the top over her head exposing her chest to the blonde's gaze. Alison's eyes darkened as they scanned every inch of the newly exposed skin. She felt Emily shift uncomfortably under her gaze, so Ali smiled sweetly.

"You're so beautiful," She whispered, bringing her palm to meet the brunette's cheek.

"So are -," but before Emily could even reply Alison had tugged her down and crashed their lips together in the most heated kiss that the pair had ever shared. For the first time, it was a kiss of need and want making it sloppy as they both fought for dominance. Alison gained control as she flipped them over, giving Emily access to explore her body. It had been almost a few years since Emily had been with someone sexually and all of a sudden she was filled with a sudden burst of _want_ because there is only so long that Emily can go without being intimate and that is something Alison is soon going to learn.

"Wait, stop." Ali grabbed Emily's hands as they curled around the waistband of her shorts.

"What's wrong?"

"I.. I can't do this." Ali hopped off Emily, climbing off the bed and handing Emily her jersey back.

"Ali, what the hell?" She said, frustration evident in her voice. She didn't mean it, it was just disappointing but she completely respects the blonde and doesn't want to push her too far.

"I'm sorry," The blonde said, walking around the room and leaving a half-naked Emily laid flabbergasted in the bed. After a couple of minutes, Emily put her jersey back on and headed downstairs to find the blonde. It didn't take long for her to find her sat at the kitchen island with a glass of water in her hands.

"Sorry," She whispered, her back to Emily.

"It's okay," Emily said, reaching for the blonde's hands to pull her up from her seat and pulled her into her arms.

"I… I just…"

"Ali it's okay," Emily whispered, reaching her hand under the blonde's vest top as she began drawing patterns on the smooth skin of her back.

"I want to, it's just I can't let myself have you for you to be taken away from me for God knows how many moths."

"I understand. It will only be 3 months though, it will go quickly and before you know it I'll be back."

"I know, I'm just being stupid."

"You're not being stupid, you're being scared and that's okay. I'm scared too…"

"You are?"

"Yeah, I'm scared that I won't be able to cope with being without you all that time. I'm scared that having sex with you will drive me over the edge."

"Oh it will, I can guarantee," The blonde said playfully causing Emily to laugh. "But I really hate the phrase _having sex_ , it sounds like it means nothing."

"Making love?" Emily suggested, earning a smile and a nod from Ali. The pair just stayed silent, wrapped up in each other's arms for at least 10 minutes.

"I want to," Alison stated after a while, her words firm and strong as she pulled away from Emily's embrace.

"You want to what?" Emily furrowed her brows in confusion.

"I want to make love to you. Tomorrow night before you leave so it gives you something to hold on to whilst you're away."

"Are you sure?" Alison laughed as Emily's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Yes. Plus it's New Year's Eve, what better way to bring in the New Year."

"Bring it in with a bang huh?"

"Literally," Alison winked, pulling Emily down towards her to place and gentle kiss on her lips. "But for now can we just watch Elf?"

"Again? I thought you didn't like it?" Emily raised an eyebrow as Alison took her hand and led her back up to bed.

"I didn't, but you like so I do too," She shrugged, climbing back into bed.

"Like that makes sense."

"Shut up and just cuddle me," Alison said as Emily pulled her into her chest.

"I love you Ali."

"I love you too," She smiled, burying her face in the crook of Emily's neck as she drifted off to sleep.

Unfortunately for Emily it took her a while longer to fall asleep as her mind was too busy wandering to tomorrow night.

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 **A/N: Sorry it's a short updated but i just wanted to give you all something seen as though it's been so long. What is you opinion on the next chapter, do you want it M rated or not? let me know what you think!**


	22. Little Things

**A/N:** So sorry it's been soooooo long but i've been dealing with the loss of a loved one so i hope that's understandable! Here is a realllyyyyyyy long chapter and there is an M rated section - you've been warned! It will be marked when it finishes and ends so if you don't like that kind of thing then just skip ahead :)

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The mid-morning sun seeping through the curtains burned the side of Emily's face as she stirred from her sleep. She rolled over on to her stomach, burying her face into the pillows whilst reaching over for the blonde with her left arm. She waved her arm around over the empty spot, lifting her head and squinting in confusion at the space where the blonde should be sleeping.

"Ali?" She called, her confusion building as she got no response. She sat up fully, noticing the tray on the bedside table. Reaching over, she pulled the tray on to the bed before picking up the note on the side:

 _ **Morning sleepyhead. Had to rush out to do something quickly but I'll be back before lunch. Hope you enjoy breakfast and Happy New Year's Eve! I love you xx**_

Emily smiled, moving her gaze to the content on the tray. A bowl of cereal (in a heart shaped bowl may she add), a glass of fresh orange juice and a croissant. It was the little things like this that Emily loved the most about the blonde. Although they had only been together officially for a matter of days, back when they were at school it was things like the notes she would write, or giving Emily a bite of her cereal bar. It was the little things that the blonde does that proves her love to Emily.

After finishing her breakfast, Emily decided it would probably be a good idea to clear away all the pizza boxes and candy wrappers from the previous night. If she learnt one thing in military training it was that a tidy living quarters was important for a healthy mind.

Emily made her way down the stairs, the pizza boxes balancing on one arm and the tray from breakfast balancing on the other – a skill she learned from her years of being a barista/waitress during her school and college years. She skilfully placed the tray on the kitchen counter before heading out to the trash can in the back yard. She cursed under her breath and the cold December weather as she ran (it was more of an awkward skip as if she was standing on Lego) towards the trash can.

She was just about to throw the boxes in when something caught her eye. It was a pink/white box sitting on the top of the trash with the words 'LIFECHANGER – the most accurate pregnancy test for early results'. Emily felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach and she wasn't even sure if she was metaphorically speaking because the pull on her chest caused her to drop the pizza boxes and grip the side of the trash can.

She reached inside to pull the small box out, the rattle inside indicating that there was something inside. She opened the box as quick as her shaking hands would let her; she wasn't sure if they were shaking due to the cold, apprehension or anger – probably all three. The inside of the box revealed 3 sticks. She crouched down, tipping the sticks onto the floor. She knew that you have to pee on the sticks so _the less contact with the stick the better_ she thought.

She took a sharp intake of breath, reaching her hand down to the floor to support her. By the indication on the front of the box, the two double lines meant pregnant. Alison was pregnant. Emily took a moment to think and it all made sense. Alison and Rollins split up two months ago and it's around the two month mark that you find out. Emily loved the blonde with all her heart but she didn't know if she could bring up a child in joint custody – Rollins definitely isn't the type to want nothing to do with it.

It was around half an hour later that Alison finally returned from wherever she went. She walked into the kitchen with a few grocery bags when she spotted the brunette sitting and the kitchen island staring at the marble worktop.

"Em?" She called, confusion evident in her voice as she placed the bags on the floor before beginning to unbutton her coat.

"Why didn't you tell me Ali?"

"What?"

"The tests. I saw them in the trash earlier."

"Em-"Alison tried to cut it as she placed her coat down but the brunette held up her hand.

"Just let me finish. I'm not going to lie, it was a shock but I know it's not your fault and I just want to say that I will be here for you no matter what. If you want an abortion, I'll be right by your side through it or if you want to keep it I will be at every sonogram and I will hold your hair when you have morning sickness and I'll – "

"Em," The brunette was cut off by the blonde who made her way over to her, cupping her cheek in her hand. "I'm not pregnant."

"What? But the tests," She said, her brow furrowing with confusion as Alison lightly chuckled.

"Well first of all you weren't meant to find them for this very reason and because I'm sworn to secrecy –"

"Ali what are you talking about?" Emily took the blonde's hand away from her cheek and held it in her own.

"Hanna's the one who is pregnant, not me." Emily could see the blonde's eyes sparkling with amusement at the accusation. "She called this morning at about 8 o'clock with the tests so I offered to take her to the doctor's office. She wanted to be absolutely certain before she drops _that_ bombshell on Caleb."

"Oh my God, how far long is she?" The excitement and relief was too much for the brunette as she grabbed Ali's other hand and dragged her onto her lap. It was a slightly awkward position with Emily sat on a bar stool so Alison compromised with standing in between her legs.

"Nearly 2 months, she's due around the 2nd August." Alison perched her hands on Emily's shoulders as the brunette's arms snaked around her waist.

"I can't believe it."

"But that little speech you just gave was possibly the cutest thing I've heard may I add," The blonde smiled causing a familiar blush to appear on the brunette's face and she brought Alison closer so she could bury her head in the blonde's chest with embarrassment. Alison wrapped her arms around her, gently drawing patters at the base of the back of Emily's neck. She smiled as she felt the goose bumps rise around her touch.

"What's the plan for today?" Emily mumbled, pulling back from the blonde.

"Well you need to get ready because I'm taking you on a first date and then we have the evening together," She smiled weakly, hating the fact that the brunette is going away so soon after she has got her back.

"It's going to be easier this time Ali." Emily stood up from the stool, moving both her hands to hold the blonde's cheeks.

"It's not. Not now you're finally mine," The blonde averted her eyes away from Emily's, choosing to admire the floor instead.

"It will be easier, you know why? Because now we both have a reason to get through it. We have a reason to survive and that reason is each other. We have so many things to look forward to when I get back; Hanna's baby, Paris…" The brunette trailed off as she stroked her thumbs along the faint line of blusher on Alison's cheek.

The mention of Paris brought a smile onto the blonde's face as she quickly looked up. "You're right."

"I know," Emily smiled matter-of-factly, earning herself a playful thump on the arm. "Plus now we're together we can you know… always video chat on Skype." A smirk formed on the brunette's face as she playfully pinched the blonde's waist.

"Emily! That better not have meant what I thought it meant," The blonde gasped, once again blown away by the brunette's confidence.

"What did you think it meant?"

"Oh I think you know what I thought it meant."

Emily wrapped her arms around Alison's waist as she buried her head in the crook of her neck. "So is that a no?"

"Hmmm, we'll see." The blonde smiled as she felt Emily smile against her collarbone before she pulled away.

"We'll see?" The brunette pulled away as Alison nodded. The blonde laughed at the way her eyes were lit up with hope. "Well that will definitely make it easier."

"Please can you get in the shower now? As much as this..." Alison said, running her hands through Emily's messy, and slightly wacky, bed hair. "Is cute, I don't think the outside world will find in presentable." The brunette pouted before Alison leaned in to kiss it away. "Shower." She leaned in for another kiss, "Now."

"Okay okay, I'm going. Want to join me?" A playful smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth as she could see the blonde getting frustrated by the way a crease had formed in between her eyebrows.

"No. Now go." She said, pushing the brunette in the direction of the door.

"Wow even when we are together she is still rejecting me," Emily chuckled to herself, glancing back down the stairs when she got half way up because of the silence from Ali. The blonde was stood in the hallway, her smile was gone and her eyes were glazed with tears.

"Ali?" Emily called in confusion but the blonde was motionless; she was frozen to the spot. Emily retraced her steps, did she say something wrong? "Oh God, I was joking," She called, quickly making her way down the stairs two at a time before she was stood in front of the blonde, gently pulling her into her chest.

"You were right."

"No I was joking. Ali the past is in the past. You had your reasons for why you did it and it's okay. I did some pretty awful things to you too don't forget."

"I'll never forgive myself."

"Ali, I rejected you too remember? That one night when we were sat on my window seat the night after we…you know…"

"Had the best night of our lives?"

"Yeah, I rejected you after you finally let your guard down Ali and I'm so sorry. I was so blind and then I threw you in jail –" The blonde cut her off by pulling at the neck of her t shirt and dragging their lips together; she could see how worked up the brunette was getting.

"It's okay, Em. I forgive you too. We are both here now, together, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Let's just focus on the present and the future," Emily replied, finding her voice once more.

" _Our_ future."

"I really do love you. I can't believe you are finally mine. If someone would have told 14 year old Emily that she would be here right now she would probably have had a heart attack." Emily gripped onto Alison's waist and pushed her away slightly so she could see her face and smiled as she giggled.

"I love you too. But can you get in the shower now we are pushed for time."

"If I must. I won't be long." She placed a gentle kiss on her perfectly heart shaped lips before jogging up the stairs.

It was a little over half an hour later that Emily emerged downstairs wearing a black jeans/white t shirt/green bomber jacket/white Adidas Stan Smith combo. At the sound of her thudding down the stairs, Ali emerged from the kitchen ready to leave.

"You look really good," The blonde said, making her way over to Emily who was stood in the mirror trying to take selfies.

"Thanks babe," Emily replied, not paying any attention to the blonde as she put her Ray Bans on to take more pictures.

" _I really like your outfit too Ali_ ," The blonde mocked Emily's lack of attention on her but the brunette kept pulling stupid faces into the mirror. Alison just stood, arms crossed and glare on, in her signature Alison DiLaurentis style. "EMILY!" She screeched, striding forward and grabbing her arm to drag her away from the mirror.

"You look cute when you're angry," She turned the camera on to the blonde and began taking pictures of her as she dragged her towards the door.

"Don't push my buttons Fields." She growled, opening the door and pushing the brunette out. "All I do is try and be thoughtful so we can spend our last day together and you have to ruin it being immature."

"Ali, I'm sorry," She laughed, the whole situation was just hilarious to her.

Alison just ignored her and strutted over towards her car. Getting in the car, she sighed in frustration as Emily just stood in the middle of the driveway typing away on her phone. When the brunette finally decided to join her, she was welcomed by the silent treatment.

As they pulled up at a stop sign, Alison glanced over at Emily and rolled her eyes at how engrossed into editing the pictures of herself she was. She had been spending _way_ too much time with Hanna. A large beeping noise drowned out the faint sound of the radio as a call from Ali's phone came through the system on the car.

"Hello?" She called out, not taking her eyes off the road to look at the caller ID.

"Hey Ali, are you driving I can always call back?"

"No it's fine Spence, I would say call Emily but she's too busy being big headed." The blonde glanced over at the brunette whose mouth fell open at the comment.

"Oh dear, well Caleb has rang to see if it would be okay for us all to go to my lake house for New Year's. Are you up for it?"

"Yeah sure, we'll be there." She replied quickly, before Emily could but in and say anything.

"Great, see you there for about 8 o'clock?"

"Yep, see you then."

"Okay great! Bye guys."

"But Ali, I thought-"

"Karma a bitch isn't it?" The blonde smirked at the childish face the brunette was now pulling.

The next half an hour or so drive was quiet, except from the odd ping from Emily's phone.

"You ready to know what your surprise is?"

"Yes!" Emily instantly locked her phone and turned to give Alison her full attention.

"Well remember that one time you told me you had never been to a proper zoo?"

"Yeah, and it's still true," Emily smiled, overwhelmed that the blonde remembered such a random fact about her.

"Well I was going to take you to a zoo but you know my feelings on animal rights and I know how much you love dogs but were never allowed one because your dad was allergic so…" She temporarily paused as she turned into the car park. "I've brought you to a puppy nursery."

"You serious? Oh my god Ali thank you! Can we get one?" The blonde couldn't help but smile at her childish excitement.

"That wasn't exactly the plan _but_ it's not exactly a no."

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?"

"I'm not sure," The blonde shrugged, playfully.

"A lot!" Emily stated as she took off her seat belt and leaned over towards the blonde, grabbing her face and crashing their lips together. All at once, the previous frustrations Alison had seemed to just melt away. "And I'm sorry for being big headed," She mumbled against their slightly parted lips.

"You'll just have to make it up to me later."

"I look forward to it," She smiled, capturing the blonde's lips one last time before pulling away to jump out the car. She waited for the blonde, wrapping her arm around her shoulder as Ali cheekily placed her hand in Emily's far back pocket.

"Ah, you must be Miss DiLaurentis?" A young, ginger girl smiled as the couple approached. Alison detached herself from Emily and was about to answer when she caught the young girl's eye. The girl wasn't looking at her but looking – or drooling – at Emily.

Alison cleared her throat, "That would be me."

"Sorry, I'm Piper and I'll be showing you around."

"Cool," Emily smiled, looking at Alison out of the corner of her eye in confusion. Why had she used her maiden name?

"This way," Piper called, guiding them through a set of double doors. By the aggravated look on Alison's face Emily knew that she didn't like their tour guide and she only needed one guess to know why.

She slowed her walk so the blonde could catch up to her before she placed an arm around her waist. "Thank you again for this. I love it." She stopped for a fraction of a second to grab the other side of the blonde's waist, pulling her closer so they were standing in front of one another before placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Erm, sorry to interrupt but this is the nursery." Alison couldn't help but smile at the priceless look on the girl's face. Emily grabbed Ali's hand, excitedly dragging her through the doors into what only can be described as a puppy heaven.

"Oh my god," Emily said, her eyes slowly scanning the room in front of her. There was different breeds of dogs in different sections; each section containing different scenarios. There was fake grass, an artificial pond, an artificial beach. It was like a dream.

"This is a newly refurbished center. Now we also use the facilities for rescue dogs too by introducing them to these different scenarios in a controlled environment."

"I love it. I want it." Emily autonomously walked over to the sections where the puppies were, tilting her head at the fluffy creatures behind the glass.

"You can go in if you like." Piper said, opening the gate to the pen to let the couple in. Emily immediately went over to the huddle of sleeping puppies in the basket, squealing when they all bounced over to her asking for attention.

"He's called Eiffel." Emily immediately looked up at Piper at the mention of _that_ name but she realized that Piper had her back to her. Emily followed her line of sight towards Alison kneeling down in the corner as one of the puppies snuggled into her thigh when she started rubbing his ear. "If you look at his nose, he has a slight marking in the shape of the Eiffel Tower and that is where his name is from."

Alison immediately looked up at Emily, her eyes glazed with love as Emily nodded whilst trying to hold back the tears. She knows it is stupid but there is something about the sight of the blonde being so attached and loving towards the puppy that is so _maternal_ and freaking cute that it really touched her heart strings.

 **| 2 hours later |**

The journey back to their house was fairly quiet. Words weren't needed to describe the happiness the pair were bursting with as the constant smiles on their faces or the glisten in their eyes said all that was needed to be said. The pair decided they were going to stay at the old DiLaurentis house for the night. Jason was out of town and so it was the perfect place – the memories of Alison's house with Rollins were making Emily understandably uncomfortable.

"I'm going to quickly make us something to eat," the blonde said quietly as Emily nodded, pecking her gently on the lips.

When Alison returned to the living room 15 minutes later with two plates of sandwiches, the soft sound of (I've Had) The Time of My Life filtered through the docking station in the corner of the room. The sun was just beginning to set and it gave the room just enough light to give it a romantic feel.

"He's beautiful," Alison whispered, wrapping her arms around Emily's waist as the pair looked down at the sleeping puppy in the basket.

Emily wrapped herself completely around the blonde, "Not as beautiful as you." She tilted her chin up, capturing her bottom lip between her own. She tugged on it, causing an involuntary moan to escape the blonde's lips. Alison was too caught up in the kiss to even realize that Emily had begun swaying to the music.

"Dance with me." It wasn't a question it was a command. Alison was 100% sure that she didn't want to do it but the warmth of Emily's breath tickling against her lips sent her ability to reply into a frenzy. Emily, of course, took the silence as a yes as she pulled away from the blonde, bringing her back towards her and twirling her around.

"Stay here," she whispered, smirking against Alison's slightly plumper lips as she stepped back towards the middle of the room.

"Em what are you – "

"Get ready for the jump, its coming."

"No way. No way Emily," the blonde refused. "You won't be able to hold me."

"Ali I'm in the military of course I can hold you." The blonde sighed in frustration, taking her position ready to run at the brunette.

"Ready? 3…. 2… 1…."

Alison ran towards Emily, the brunette crouching down to grab her waist and lifting her gracefully off the floor. The blonde squealed, grabbing onto Emily's shoulders as she lifted her legs and waist into the air. Emily twirled them around before pulling the blonde's waist down so she was carrying her. With Alison slightly towering above her, she reached up to kiss her soundly. In her slight dizziness, Emily (with the blonde in her arms) collapsed onto the sofa. Now straddling the out of breath brunette, Alison used the position to her advantage and captured her lips with her own.

"I like it when you carry me," she whispered, the words coming out fast as she tried to catch her breath from the kiss.

"Well I could always carry you to bed." Emily's hands made their way under Alison's shirt, caressing her back gently.

 **| M rated section |**

"Please do." Emily didn't need asking twice. She gripped the back of Ali's thighs before lifting them both off the sofa. Emily pulled the blonde's legs tighter around her middle; the friction caused the blonde to moan into Emily's neck before placing a wet kiss on the same spot.

Emily carried her up to her old room, the memories of the times they both spent here over 5 years came flooding back – including the night that _it_ happened. She carefully placed Alison down in the middle of the bed, hovering over her with a knee in between her thighs.

"This brings back memories," the blonde whispered, her hot breath tickling Emily's lips. Emily didn't reply; she moved her hands to Alison's blouse, skilfully undoing the buttons as she let her eyes rake over the newly exposed part of her body. Alison removed her own hands from Emily's hair and covered her face.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Emily replied quietly, removing the blonde's hands from her face. She could tell the blonde was feeling slightly insecure by her body language and she had no idea why because she was _stunning_. "You are the most gorgeous, divine, enticing piece of art I have ever seen. Do not ever be shy about your body Ali, it is perfect."

The blonde felt a tear form in the corner of her eye as she looked up into the soft eyes she has fallen so deeply in love with. She thought about replying but in the split second she saw Emily gaze down at her exposed chest, the atmosphere changed. Her eyes darkened with lust as she reached for the brunette's jaw, dragging it closer and crashing their lips together.

"Off." Alison mumbled, tugging at the hem of Emily's white t-shirt. Emily sat back on her knees as she pulled her t shirt off, tossing it onto the floor. There was a brief moment where the pair were just staring at each other; taking in the sight of the other. The moment soon ended as Ali looped her fingers through the belt holes on Emily's jeans and dragged her back on top of her. As Emily's lips began exploring the base of her neck, Alison focused her attention on getting the brunette free of her jeans. She undid the button, playfully letting her fingers dip below the hem of her underwear. Emily groaned slightly as she moved her hips closer into the blonde.

5 minutes later and Emily's jeans were nothing but a pile on the floor as she tugged the blonde's off. She crawled her way back up in between the blonde's legs, hovering slightly above her lips.

"Are you ready?" The brunette's voice was low and raspy. The blonde's head was already spinning; she didn't have the ability to formulate a sentence so she settled with nodding, dragging Emily closer once again to connect their lips.

The brunette started to move her body south, caressing each new section of skin with her finger tips, closely followed by her lips. She kissed her way down the valley of the blonde's breasts as her finger tips began to graze over her nipples. The blonde let out an involuntary moan, arching her back further into the brunette as she retraced her steps by licking her way back up her chest.

Emily smirked as she peered up at the blonde; her eyes were tight shut and her bottom lip was clamped firmly in between her teeth. "Open your eyes babe."

The blonde's eyebrows creased as she opened her eyes, biting her lip harder as the brunette took her right nipple into her mouth. Alison grabbed for Emily's hair, frantically trying to occupy her hands.

Emily moved her hands down the sides of the blonde's waist, stopping at the waistband of her underwear. "Ali I need you to let go of my hair," she chuckled. The blonde immediately let go, letting out a small grunt at the lack of contact in the process.

Emily placed soft wet kisses down her stomach, using her tongue to caress the skin as her hands slowly slid her underwear down her legs. This is new territory for them both – the last time they were in this position they never had oral sex. As she kissed down the blonde's thighs, she ran her index finger through her folds.

"Fuck," The blonde mumbled, her hands grabbing the sheets as her knees pushed against Emily. Emily playfully dipped her finger just to say inside the blonde before retreating again. She continued to do this as she kissed around the area. "Em please don't tease me."

Emily smirked as she wrapped her arms around her thighs, pulling her further down the bed and into her. "As you wish my Queen." Without warning Emily began working her tongue on the delicate blonde, circling her clit as her middle finger dipped inside. "Are you going to come for me?"

"I…I haven't…" The blonde could barely get her words out because the brunette was literally taking her breath away. "Not since… that night."

Emily moved her head away from the blonde as she looked up to catch her gaze. She could tell the blonde was getting worked up because she could read her like a book – the complete polar opposite to all those years ago. "Hey, it's okay. It is my job to make you come not yours okay?" Alison nodded gently, not taking her eyes away from Emily as the brunette provided her with a confidence she thought she would never get back.

Emily immediately got back to work, swirling her tongue around the blonde's swollen clit – it was fairly obvious that Rollins never paid any special attention to it – whilst she dipped another finger into the blonde, pumping in and out at a steady rhythm as she began to curl them inside her.

Alison let out a high pitched moan sending Emily's head, and stomach, into oblivion. If her mouth wasn't so deep in the blonde she would have probably let out a moan which matched hers. The blonde's legs began to tremble as her head flew back against the pillow. "I think it's happening, Em."

Emily didn't reply. Instead, she plunged her fingers deeper into her as her tongue continued to work effortlessly with the blonde. Alison's knees pressed against the brunette in between her legs as she tried to ride out this alien feeling. She could feel the damp build up in between her legs and she knew that it was happening.

Emily settled down into a lazy rhythm as prolonged the blonde's orgasm for as long as possible. When the blonde's release came to an end, Emily kissed her way up the blonde's stomach until they were eye to eye. "How was that my love?"

"Wow." Despite the lack of breath, Alison reached for Emily's neck and pulled her in for a kiss, moaning as she could taste the unfamiliar taste of herself.

"Wow good, wow bad?" Emily smirked down at the crumbling blonde, already knowing the answer.

"Wow I think I just walked into fucking heaven." Emily couldn't help but laugh, it wasn't often the blonde swore. She rested herself on top of Alison, resting her face back in the valley of her chest. The blonde's hands automatically played with her hair, softly sending the brunette into a peaceful sleep.

 **| M section ends |**

Emily woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. "Shit," she mumbled, ascending her arm out to the side to find the ringing cell phone. "Hello?"

"Emily, sorry it is so short notice but would you and Ali get some wine from the grocery store please."

"Yeah sure, we'll go when we are on our way."

"Are you not already on your way?"

"No?"

"Emily it's 8 o'clock!"

"What?" She mumbled, pulling the phone away from her ear to check the time. "Shit, sorry Spence we fell asleep."

"It's fine, just hurry up!" Spencer huffed down the line before hanging up. Emily looked down at the sleeping blonde still underneath her. "Ali we need to get up babe, we are late to the lake house."

"What time is it?"

"8.05." The brunette kissed her softly before sliding off of the naked blonde. "I'll jump in the shower real quick whilst you learn to walk again," she smirked, causing the blonde to giggle.

A quick 10 minutes later Emily emerged from the bathroom in her towel to a still naked Alison frantically running around trying to pick up their clothes off of the floor. When she caught a glimpse of Emily, she immediately stopped what she was doing as her eyes slowly glided down her perfect figure.

"Ali," Emily gulped. "Don't look at me like that otherwise I'll have to drag you back to that bed."

"Please do," she said, with no emotion in her voice as her attention was still solemnly focused on checking her out.

"God, you will be the death of me." It took Emily all of three strides to reach Alison and lose herself in the blonde's lips. Alison playfully tugged on the towel, allowing it to fall to the floor. "Seriously, we need to get dressed."

"Okay party pooper," the blonde pouted.

"Sorry gorgeous but you know what Spencer is like."

"Uhm but you don't know what I'm like because you fell asleep before I had the chance to show you," Alison said playfully, letting her hands glide up and down the brunette's stomach. She watched Emily's eyes as they darkened with lust.

"You know what, fuck Spencer."

"Mm how about you fuck me instead," The blonde smirked as Emily picked her up and threw her back on the bed before crawling on top of her. "Nuh-uh, it's my turn."

A record 45 minutes later the pair were once again showered, dressed, packed and in the car on their way to the lack house.

"Spence we are on our way!" Emily said as soon as she picked up Spencer's call.

"It is now nearly 9'oclock what the hell is taking you so long. We are going to have to eat without you before Hanna starts to get hangry. She's already grizzly."

"It's fine, we've already ate."

"Yeah, each other!" Hanna shouted in the background causing the pair to giggle and Spencer to huff.

"Seriously Spence, huff once more and they'll be sending out a tornado warning."

"It's not funny Emily. You better be here soon."

"We will be there in like 30 minutes with pizza and wine and a special surprise to show you all," she smiled, looking at the back seat where there was a sleeping golden puppy curled up in his cage.

"Okay, hurry up!"

Due to a bad road accident and a closed road, the pair didn't end up getting to the lake house until 11.05pm.

"Where the hell have you been? You should have been here 3 hours ago!" Spencer screeched as she made her way out of the lake house and towards their car.

"I'll deal with her and get the bags, you take Eiffel inside," Emily smiled, leaning over to kiss the blonde before getting out to face the wrath of Spencer.

Leaving them to it, Alison headed inside with the dog cage and immediately caught the attention of a rather ecstatic blonde.

"Oh my God Ali he's adorable!" she immediately jumped up from the couch and headed over. "I told him, he took it so well." She whispered under her breath.

"So you're having a baby?"

"Yeah, we're having a baby!" Hanna beamed back at the other blonde, the pair both grateful for their stronger, more trustworthy, friendship. Alison placed down the dog cage as she pulled the blonde into a hug.

At 11.40, they all made their way onto the hillside by the lake to watch the New Year in with a fireworks display.

"Here you go," Emily smiled, placing a hot chocolate into the blonde's grateful hands before sitting down next to her and covering their legs with a blanket.

"Thank you," She smiled, taking a sip. She turned to look at the brunette who started to giggle. "What?"

"You, erm, have a bit of cream here," she smiled, pointing to the corner of her mouth. No matter how hard the blonde tried, she could not lick the cream off.

"I'll get it." Emily leaned forward, licking the cream away from her cheek before placing a loving kiss on her lips. As they pulled away, the stayed staring into each other's eyes; both reflecting the same happiness and content.

"I love you," the blonde whispered.

"I love you too."

"Guys, look!" Aria called out, causing everyone's attention to fall on the destination she is pointing to. Down on the Jetty, Caleb has took Hanna's hand and they're just stood talking. There was several gasps from them all as Caleb got down on one knee.

"Oh my god, he's proposing!" Aria screamed. Ezra literally had to drag her back down onto the floor so she didn't ruin the moment with her excitement. They didn't have to wait long before they heard Hanna scream yes and throw herself at Caleb. He spun her around just as the fireworks began over the lake, illuminating the picturesque scene in front of them.

"Happy New Year beautiful," Emily whispered into the blonde's ear.

"Happy New Year Em, our first of many." She reached up to kiss her lady for the first time in 2016, completely unaware of the year ahead.

* * *

 **A/N:** A LOT happened, the pregnancy, Eiffel the dog, the M rated bit, the proposal. What did you guys think, let me know! :)


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